Correlation of Digital Rectal Examination Findings with Findings on Histopathology of the Prostate in Patients with Suspected Prostate Cancer

Introduction: Prostate cancer is the commonest malignancy affecting males worldwide and attempts at reducing the mortality of the disease are focused mainly on early detection.Digital rectal examination (DRE) and prostate specific antigen (PSA) test are preliminary modalities to identify patients who would require further study.Confirmation and grading of prostate cancer is currently done using histopathological analysis of prostate biopsy specimens.The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between digital rectal examination findings with findings on histology of the prostate in patients with suspected prostate cancer.Material and Methods: Forty-five adult male patients aged 50 years and above with abnormal digital rectal examination findings had digitally-guided transrectal prostate biopsy done.Digital rectal examination findings were correlated with the histopathology findings.Data analysis was conducted using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 16.Tests of correlation at 95% confidence limit, and p-value of ≤ 0.05 were conducted.Results: The mean age was 68.1years (range: 52 -93 years) with the age range for peak incidence being 61 -70 years (42.2%).On DRE, 91.1% of patients were found to have enlarged prostate glands with 73.3% of the glands having a hard consistency and 51.1% being nodular.More patients (91.1%) had multiple DRE abnormalities.There was a statistically significant positive correlation between abnormal DRE findings and histologic diagnosis of prostate cancer (p<0.05).The prostate cancer detection rate for DRE was found to be 60%.Conclusion: Abnormal findings detected using digital rectal examination correlated well with a histologic diagnosis of prostate cancer.Digital rectal examination remains a relevant tool in the diagnosis of prostate cancer.