Finasteride Reduces PSA, Prostate Volume in BPH Patients

ATLANTA—One year of finasteride treatment can decrease PSA levels and prostate volume significantly in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), and the magnitude of change may improve clinicians’ ability to diagnose prostate cancer in patients with elevated PSA levels and a prior negative biopsy, researchers reported at the American Urological Association 2012 annual meeting.

A Japanese team studied 40 BPH patients with a serum PSA level greater than 4 ng/mL and a normal digital rectal examination who had a 12-core transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy. PSA levels dropped from 8.47 at baseline to 4.53 ng/mL at one year. Prostate volume decreased from 50.3 to 38.1 mL.

Prostate cancer was detected in three (43%) of seven men who had a prostate volume decrease of less than 10% compared with two (13%) of 15 men with a PSA decrease of 33%-50%, and one (14%) of nine men with a PSA decrease of less than 33%.