Clinical Importance of Histopathological Inflammation in Patients with Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Due to Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: A Prospective Study of 222 Patients.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between the severity of histopathological prostatic inflammation with lower urinary tract symptoms and prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels.

METHODS: We prospectively included 222 consecutive patients eligible for transurethral resection of the prostate in a non-academic referral center by a single surgeon. Patients with proven urinary tract infection or prostate cancer were excluded. Preoperative assessment included PSA levels, International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), mean peak flow, mean resected prostate weight and post-residual volume. Finally, the presence and severity of inflammation was determined histopathologically.

RESULTS: Mean patient age was 69.1 ± 8.6 years with mean preoperative PSA levels of 4.7 ± 5.4 ng/mL and IPSS of 15.7 ± 6.9. Mean peak flow was 10.7 ± 6.5 ml/s and the mean resected prostate weight 39.4 ± 27.3 g. Positive correlations between PSA (log) and prostate weight (r = 0.54, p < 0.001) and between PSA (log) and active (r = 0.30, p < 0.0001) and chronic inflammation (r = 0.19, p = 0.005) were observed. No correlations were found between IPSS and PSA (log) (r = -0.14, p = 0.040) or between IPSS and active inflammation (p = 0.659) or chronic inflammation (p = 0.125).

CONCLUSION: The study showed a weak correlation between PSA and the active or chronic inflammation. It also showed that there was no correlation between the active or chronic histopathological inflammation and IPSS.