Asian J Androl. 2003 Sep;5(3):179-83.
Tc-99m ciprofloxacin imaging in diagnosis of chronic bacterial prostatitis.
Ryu JK, Lee SM, Seong DW, Suh JK, Kim S, Choe W, Moon Y, Pai SH.
Department of Nuclear Medicine, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon 400103, Korea.

AIM: To investigate the value of Tc-99m ciprofloxacin imaging in the differential diagnosis of chronic bacterial prostatitis. METHODS: The study included 4 normal subjects as the negative controls, 2 patients with acute prostatitis or cystourethritis as the positive controls and 59 patients diagnosed as chronic bacterial prostatitis or chronic pelvic pain syndrome by traditional laboratory tests. In every subject, the single photon emission computerized tomography images were obtained 3 h after intravenous injection of Tc-99m Ciprofloxacin. The results of the imaging were compared with those of laboratory tests. RESULTS: On the images, negative uptake was observed in all normal subjects, while strong hot uptake, in the whole prostate of acute prostatitis patients and in the whole urethra of acute cystourethritis patients. In 13 (68%) of 19 patients categorized as chronic bacterial prostatitis by standard laboratory tests, hot uptake with less intensity than that of acute prostatitis was observed in the prostate area around the prostatic urethra. Negative uptake in the prostate was observed in 6 of 19 patients (32%) categorized as chronic bacterial prostatitis. Interestingly, hot uptake in the prostate was exhibited in 28 (70%) of the 40 patients categorized as chronic pelvic pain syndrome. CONCLUSION: Tc-99m ciprofloxacin imaging is helpful in the differential diagnosis of prostatitis syndrome.

Zhonghua Nan Ke Xue. 2003 Jun;9(3):204-6.
Application of infrared image system in the diagnosis of chronic prostatitis and benign prostatic hyperplasia
Tian YH, Xiong CL.
Institute of Family Planning Research, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the diagnostic value of infrared image system for chronic prostatitis(CP) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). METHODS: Fifteen patients with CP, 17 patients with BPH and 15 healthy volunteers were examined by infrared image system. The infrared thermal images were analyzed. RESULTS: Compared with healthy volunteers, CP and BPH group had significantly different in infrared thermal image of prostate, but there were no significant differences between CP and BPH group. CONCLUSIONS: Infrared image system is a useful tool to screen the prostatic diseases.

Hum Pathol. 2002 Aug;33(8):796-800.
Should the diagnosis of benign prostatic hyperplasia be made on prostate needle biopsy?
Viglione MP, Potter S, Partin AW, Lesniak MS, Epstein JI.
Department of Pathology, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA.

Pathologists frequently sign out benign prostate needle biopsies as "benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)". There are no data indicating that a diagnosis of BPH on biopsy correlates with either gland weight or with the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) used to measure urinary obstructive symptoms. We examined biopsies for average percentage of glands and average percentage of glands with papillary infolding per case, maximum percentage of glands and maximum percentage of glands with papillary infolding per core per case, and presence of any stromal nodules per case. BPH was measured in 2 ways: (1) IPSS grouped into 3 categories (mild, moderate, severe) and (2) prostate weight at radical prostatectomy in men with limited cancer. IPSS was classified as follows: mild (n = 12), moderate (n = 13), and severe (n = 10). There was no correlation with IPSS and any of the histologic features measured. For the 41 radical prostatectomy specimens, the average weight was 65.3 g (median, 56.0 g, range, 22 to 117 g). There was no correlation between gland weight and the average or maximum percentage of glands, or average or maximum percentage of glands with papillary infolding. Stromal nodules on biopsy correlated with gland weight. In the 30 cases without stromal nodules on biopsy, the mean gland weight was 51.4 g. In the 11 cases with stromal nodules on biopsy, the mean gland weight was 77.4 g (P = 0.0125). However, stromal nodules were not specific for a large prostate (i.e., a 15 g prostate had stromal nodules on biopsy). With the exception of stromal nodules found on biopsy, histologic findings on biopsy are not specific for either clinical or pathologic BPH. Thus benign prostate biopsies should be signed out merely as "benign prostate tissue."

Med Clin (Barc). 2000 Sep 23;115(9):332-6.
Usefulness of the percentage of free prostatic specific antigen in the differential diagnosis between benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer
Gaspar MJ, Arribas I, Hontoria JM, Bokobo P, Coca C, Angulo JC.
Servicio de Analisis Clinicos. Departamento de Ciencias Morfologicas y Cirugia. Hospital Universitario Principe de Asturias. Alcala de Henares. Madrid.

BACKGROUND: PSA (prostatic specific antigen) is the most used tumor marker to monitor prostate cancer (PC). It is an acceptably sensitive test. Molecular forms of PSA give a chance to improve its specificity. We have evaluated the usefulness of the ratio free PSA/total PSA (f-PSA/t-PSA%) to diagnose prostate cancer, in the range between 4 and 20 ng/ml; i.e. the interval in which values overlap for patients with PC and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in our environment. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Prospective study on 269 patients, 73 with PC and 196 with BPH. Both t-PSA and f-PSA were determined using microparticles enzyme immune assay (MEIA) with AXSYM (Abbott) analyzer. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences were evidenced in f-PSA/t-PSA% for patients with PC vs. BPH; but that did not happen for t-PSA values. Sensitivity and specificity values were established for different cut-off points. ROC curve analysis proved diagnostic efficacy was better for f-PSA/t-PSA% than for t-PSA. CONCLUSIONS: f-PSA/t-PSA percentage is a useful tool for the differential diagnosis between PC and BPH. A ratio lower than 12% selects a population with high risk of cancer. A percentage over 18% is useful to avoid or delay the indication of biopsy.

Urol Nefrol (Mosk). 1997 Nov-Dec;(6):3-7.
A computer program for the support of the treatment-diagnosis process for patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia
Lopatkin NA, Loran OB, Vishnevskii EL, Sulimov AV, Vishnevskii AE.

The computer program "Prostate" (Windows, 1.0 version) is designed to assist the urologist in: objective assessment of the lower urinary tract in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), accumulation and storage of information on the patients (data file), comparison (text, graphics) with previous data to control the course of the disease, treatment efficacy, to refer to international recommendations and recent advances in the treatment of both BPH and its complications. The status of the lower urinary tract is to be described basing on the IPSS and QOL tables, PSA findings, rhythm of spontaneous uresis, uroflowmetry, residual urine, prostate size, laboratory and microbiological urinalysis. The program "Prostate" is a new step in medical recording and efficacy of BPH treatment assessment in urology.