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The role of DRE in the diagnosis of prostate carcinoma

Chong WL 1 , Sahabudin RM 2 , Teh GC 3 , Woo SYY 4 , Lim TC 5 , Khairullah A 6

Affiliations 

  • 1 W L Chong, FRCS. Institute of Urology, Kuala Lumpur Hospital, Jalan Pahang, 50586 Kuala Lumpur
  • 2 R M Sahabudin, MS. Institute of Urology, Kuala Lumpur Hospital, Jalan Pahang, 50586 Kuala Lumpur
  • 3 G C Teh, FRCS. Institute of Urology, Kuala Lumpur Hospital, Jalan Pahang, 50586 Kuala Lumpur
  • 4 S Y Y Woo, FRCS. Institute of Urology, Kuala Lumpur Hospital, Jalan Pahang, 50586 Kuala Lumpur
  • 5 T C Lim, FRCS. Institute of Urology, Kuala Lumpur Hospital, Jalan Pahang, 50586 Kuala Lumpur
  • 6 A Khairullah, FRCS. Institute of Urology, Kuala Lumpur Hospital, Jalan Pahang, 50586 Kuala Lumpur
Med J Malaysia, 2001 Jun;56(2):167-73.
PMID: 11771076

Abstract

DRE has been used as a diagnostic and screening tool for prostate cancer for decades. However these are based on Western data and its local applicability has yet to be verified. We held a Prostate Health Awareness Week in August 1998 and a total of 2086 men were screened. All men aged 50 years old and above were included for the study. The subjects were evaluated on DRE findings, PSA levels and if indicated a TRUS-guided biopsy results. We concluded that DRE per se might have limited role in the screening of prostate cancer in Malaysia. Screening using DRE and PSA combined are still recognized as the most cost-effective means. Neither DRE nor PSA alone has high enough specificity for diagnosis of prostate cancer cases. Combining DRE and PSA will definitely increase the specificity significantly.

Study site: e Urology
Clinic of Kuala Lumpur Hospital

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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