Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41107473›Full record

ArticleProstate cancer and prostatic diseases2026

4K density: Adjusting the 4Kscore for prostate volume to improve risk stratification of clinically significant prostate cancer in men undergoing prostate biopsy.

Timothy Guerard, Joao G Porto, Thomas Fekete, Omri Nativ, Gareth Reid, Adam Williams, Jonathan Ryan, Kevin Zhou, Elena Cortizas, Pedro Freitas and 6 more

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Article in Prostate cancer and prostatic diseases, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

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0cells of the map it votes in
5citing 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

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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

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Beyond Total PSA: Clinical Significance of S2,3PSA% in Reducing Unnecessary Prostate Biopsies.International journal of urology : official journal of the Japanese Urological Association · 2026
    Review
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

16 authors.

Timothy GuerardUniversity of Miami, Desai Sethi Urology Institute, Miami, Florida, 33138, USA. Guerard.t.bla@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0007-5628-7951
Joao G PortoUniversity of Miami, Desai Sethi Urology Institute, Miami, Florida, 33138, USA.
Thomas FeketeUniversity of Miami, Desai Sethi Urology Institute, Miami, Florida, 33138, USA.
Omri NativUniversity of Miami, Desai Sethi Urology Institute, Miami, Florida, 33138, USA.
Gareth ReidUniversity of Miami, Desai Sethi Urology Institute, Miami, Florida, 33138, USA.
Adam WilliamsUniversity of Miami, Desai Sethi Urology Institute, Miami, Florida, 33138, USA.
Jonathan RyanUniversity of Miami, Desai Sethi Urology Institute, Miami, Florida, 33138, USA.
Kevin ZhouUniversity of Miami, Desai Sethi Urology Institute, Miami, Florida, 33138, USA.
Elena CortizasUniversity of Miami, Desai Sethi Urology Institute, Miami, Florida, 33138, USA.
Pedro FreitasUniversity of Miami, Desai Sethi Urology Institute, Miami, Florida, 33138, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4497-3923
Archan KhandekarUniversity of Miami, Desai Sethi Urology Institute, Miami, Florida, 33138, USA.
Bruno NaharUniversity of Miami, Desai Sethi Urology Institute, Miami, Florida, 33138, USA.
Chad RitchUniversity of Miami, Desai Sethi Urology Institute, Miami, Florida, 33138, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4211-3372
Mark GonzalgoUniversity of Miami, Desai Sethi Urology Institute, Miami, Florida, 33138, USA.
Dipen J ParekhUniversity of Miami, Desai Sethi Urology Institute, Miami, Florida, 33138, USA.
Sanoj PunnenUniversity of Miami, Desai Sethi Urology Institute, Miami, Florida, 33138, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe 4K Score is a blood-based test that estimates the risk of clinically significant prostate cancer (Grade Group ≥2, GG2 + ) by combining four kallikrein markers with clinical variables. However, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) can elevate PSA levels, potentially leading to risk overestimation in men with large prostates. We developed a novel metric, 4K Density (4K Score divided by prostate volume), to adjust for prostate size and improve risk stratification.

methodsWe retrospectively reviewed 3150 men who underwent 4K Score testing at the University of Miami Desai Sethi Urology Institute from 2014 to 2024. After excluding those without a prostate biopsy or MRI within six months of the 4K Score, 1983 men remained. Statistical analysis using SAS v9.4 included logistic regression, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, and Youden's Index to determine optimal cutoffs for GG2+ detection. The performance of 4K Density was compared to the 4Kscore and PSA Density in predicting GG2+ cancer.

resultsAmong the 1983 men, 661 (33%) had GG2+ cancer. 4K Density was significantly higher in men with GG2+ cancer compared to those without (median 0.93 vs. 0.25, p < .0001). In multivariable analysis, 4K Density was the strongest independent predictor (OR 3.51, 95% CI 3.64-4.66), outperforming 4Kscore and PSA density. 4K Density also had the highest AUC (0.81, (95%CI)), compared to 4Kscore (0.76, 95 %CI, <0.0001) and PSA density (0.76, 95% CI, <0.0001). At an optimized cutoff of 0.56, 4K Density achieved 89.9% NPV and 48.5% PPV for detecting GG2+ cancer.

conclusions4K Density is a novel, volume-adjusted biomarker that improves detection of clinically significant prostate cancer and outperforms PSA density and the 4Kscore test. It may be helpful in larger prostates, where confounding from BPH is present. Prospective validation is warranted to confirm its clinical utility.

Indexed as

Biomarkers, TumorKallikreinsProstateProstate-Specific AntigenProstatic HyperplasiaProstatic NeoplasmsAgedBiopsyHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeoplasm GradingOrgan SizePrognosisRetrospective StudiesRisk AssessmentBiomarkers, TumorKallikreinsProstate-Specific Antigen

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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.