Abstract: Objective To determine the age-related normal ranges of serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level in men free of
prostate cancer in Beijing. Methods Form April 2010 to October 2011, 1611 healthy men undergoing routine physical
examinations in our hospital were enrolled and received examinations with serum PSA test, digital rectal examination and
transrectal ultrasound. The men with abnormalities in any two of the three examinations were referred to a prostate biopsy.
The men with normal results in any two of the examinations or with a negative biopsy finding were defined as men without
prostate cancer. Men with a prior history of prostate cancer/surgery or with urinary tract infection/obstruction were excluded.
Results A total of 1572 men without prostate cancer were finally included in this study and stratified into 5 age groups, namely
40 to 49, 50 to 59, 60 to 69, 70 to 79, and older than 80 years groups. The median PSA values (95th percentile ranges) of these
age groups were 0.506 (1.565), 1.04 (2.920), 1.16 (4.113), 1.34 (5.561), and 2.975(7.285), respectively, and the 25th to 75th
percentiles were 0.343 to 0.923, 0.663 to 1.580, 0.693 to 2.203, 0.789 to 2.368, and 1.188 to 4.295, respectively. The serum PSA
value was positively correlated with age (r=0.314, P<0.001). Conclusion Using the age-related reference ranges for PSA can
increase the sensitivity for screening prostate cancer in younger men and decrease the biopsy rate in elderly patients.