Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40275794›Full record

ArticleBJU international2025

Percentage of free to total PSA as a biomarker of survival in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Andrew W Silagy, Dixon T S Woon, Louise Kostos, Rui Bernardino, Ting W Yiu, Marian S Wettstein, Hanan Goldberg, Jaime O Herrera-Cáceres, Hina Shiakh, Gregory Nason and 4 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BJU international, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Andrew W SilagyDepartment of Urology, Austin Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4990-8445
Dixon T S WoonDepartment of Urology, Austin Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Louise KostosMedical Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Rui BernardinoDivision of Urology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Ting W YiuDepartment of Urology, Austin Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5551-9817
Marian S WettsteinDivision of Urology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Hanan GoldbergDivision of Urology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5777-2138
Jaime O Herrera-CáceresDivision of Urology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Hina ShiakhDivision of Urology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Gregory NasonDivision of Urology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Alexandre ZlottaDivision of Urology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Eleftherios DiamantisDivision of Urology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Damien BoltonDepartment of Urology, Austin Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Neil FleshnerDivision of Urology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo analyse whether the percentage of free to total prostate-specific antigen (%fPSA) is a prognostic biomarker in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), as novel studies suggest an elevated %fPSA is associated with adverse oncological outcomes for men with biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer. PATIENTS AND

methodsA biobank prospectively collated at mCRPC diagnosis was analysed for %fPSA. Clinicopathological characteristics, systemic therapies and survival outcomes were recorded. Patients were stratified by a %fPSA cut-off of 15%. Cox proportional hazard models evaluated whether %fPSA was associated with overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) across the cohort and by treatment.

resultsA total of 254 patients analysed with newly diagnosed mCRPC: 161 (63%) men having a %fPSA ≥15%. The median follow-up was 25.6 months. The median cohort OS and CSS was 39.6 and 43.8 months, respectively. Patients with a %fPSA ≥15% had lower median PSA level (31.30 vs 50.80 ng/mL; P = 0.007) and otherwise comparable clinicopathological and treatment profiles to men with a %fPSA <15%. Adjusting for PSA and on multivariable analysis, a %fPSA ≥15% was associated with shorter OS (multivariable hazard ratio [HR] 1.56, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.02-2.40; P = 0.039). Among men treated with docetaxel, a %fPSA ≥15% was associated with worse OS (HR 1.84, 95% CI 1.03-3.26; P = 0.038) and CSS. Conversely, %fPSA was not associated with outcomes for men receiving androgen receptor pathway inhibitors (abiraterone acetate or enzalutamide).

conclusionAn elevated %fPSA appears to be an adverse prognostic biomarker. Findings are consistent with biochemical recurrence studies, suggesting a biological basis. Validation and mechanistic studies are warranted.

Indexed as

Biomarkers, TumorProstate-Specific AntigenProstatic Neoplasms, Castration-ResistantAgedAged, 80 and overHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeoplasm MetastasisPrognosisProspective StudiesBiomarkers, TumorProstate-Specific Antigenbiomarkermetastasesoncologyprostate cancerPSAsurvival

Identifiers

PMID40275794
PMCPMC12256713

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.