Specific prostate antigen in adults of the urban parishes of Cuenca - Ecuador

Abstract

The objective of this research was to determine the values of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in the blood serum of 1100 adults aged 40 to 80 who reside in the urban parishes of the city of Cuenca during 2018. The micro ELISA technique was used to determine PSA values, a glycoprotein secreted by the prostatic epithelium that allows sperm liquefaction and spermatozoa mobility. The results revealed that 8% of patients had values higher than 4 ng/ml, considered as the maximum limit of normality and present in prostatitis, benign prostatic hyperplasia, and prostate cancer. 50% of positive cases belonged to the age group of 70 to 80 years, finding statistical significance (p<0.05) when related to variables such as age, family history, and sexual activity, highlighting the importance of establishing periodic control of this tumor marker for early detection.