This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a related Letter to the Editor Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Copyright Permission Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Bansal, A. Articles by Meikle, A. W. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Bansal, A. Articles by Meikle, A. W.

Heritability of Prostate-Specific Antigen and Relationship with Zonal Prostate Volumes in Aging Twins¹

Departments of Medicine (D.K.M., A.W.M.), Urology (R.A.S., R.G.M.), Pathology (J.T.W., A.W.M.), and Medical Informatics (A.B.), University of Utah School of Medicine and the ARUP Institute, Salt Lake City, Utah 84132

Address correspondence and requests for reprints to: A. Wayne Meikle, M.D., University of Utah School of Medicine, 50 North Medical Drive, Salt Lake City, Utah 84132.

Both benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) have been shown to increase with age and with prostate volume in men, but the influence of heredity on these relationships is not completely understood. This study has two aims: 1) to investigate the inter-relationships of age, PSA, and various zonal measurements in the prostate; and 2) to assess the impact of heritable influences on total PSA. Eighty-four monozygotic twin pairs and 83 dizygotic twin pairs were studied, and serum total PSA, free PSA, and PSA-₁-antichymotrypsin were measured. Their prostate volumes [total (TV), transition zone (TZ), and peripheral zone) were quantitated using transrectal ultrasound.

Total PSA is significantly correlated with all zonal prostate measurements (TZ, peripheral zone, TV, and TZ/TV) and with age. When linear regression was applied, only age and TZ were retained in the final model. The proportion of variability in total PSA explained by these two factors, however, is below 24%. In contrast, estimates of heritability show that approximately 45% of the variability in total PSA can be explained by inherited factors. Whereas age and TZ are linearly related to total PSA, their influence is much less than that of familial and genetic factors. It is uncertain whether these factors predispose also to prostate cancer or if they are independent of those, whether they confound the accuracy of using total serum PSA level as a diagnostic tool.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				N. L. Anderson and N. G. Anderson The Human Plasma Proteome: History, Character, and Diagnostic Prospects Mol. Cell. Proteomics, November 1, 2002; 1(11): 845 - 867. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]