Apollo Hospital has presented an extensive study conducted with close to 1 lakh men on prostate cancer screening for Indian Men with no prior disposition to the disease. This study is a significant step towards advancing prostate cancer care in India by Apollo Hospitals. The study titled ‘Determining age‑specific prostate‑specific antigen for healthy Indian men’, led by N. Ragavan and. Sanjai Addla, from Apollo, has been published in the prestigious journal, Indian Journal of Urology and establishes new reference values for prostate-specific antigen (PSA), which is a established blood marker for early diagnosis and monitoring of treatment for prostate cancer, specific to the Indian demographic.
While international norms for normal PSA values have been based on a study from the USA since 1993, the same has been adopted in India as the western standards quite often were found to be ill-suited for the Indian population due to diverse genetic demarcations.
The study reveals that PSA values in India differ, prompting the establishment of new, tailored standards. Key findings include age-specific PSA standards, a progressive increase in PSA levels with age, and Indian-specific PSA values facilitating earlier detection in younger men. With this, Apollo hospitals, clinics and diagnostics network will move towards the adoption of these new PSA standards for Prostate Screening.
Prof Sanjai Addla, Consultant Uro-oncologist, Apollo Hospitals, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad: “Our study, the largest in India, re-evaluates the age-specific PSA reference ranges tailored for the Indian population. Having data from 1lakh healthy men, we are confident to bridge the gap and enhance the accuracy of serum PSA testing in detecting prostate cancer among Indian men, improving its efficacy as a diagnostic marker and provides hope of treatment for those in the advanced stages also.”
