Pre-massage samples comprised a whole voided urine specimen.
From the prostate cancer cohort, 55 men provided both pre- and post-massage samples.
The sensitivity using the pre-massage samples only was 65% (54 out of 83; CI=54–75%) and the sensitivity using the post-massage samples only was 78% (47 out of 60; CI=66–88%).
The difference in test performance for pre- and post-massage samples was assessed by comparing each sensitivity figure using McNemar's test.
Table 4 shows the sensitivity of cancer detection for pre- and post-massage samples, and for the highest Mcm5 signal group, as well as specificity values for the two control groups.
Prostate massage led to increased Mcm5 signals compared with pre-massage samples (median 3440 (interquartile range (IQR) 2280 to 5220) vs 2360 IQR <1800 to 4360 P=0.009009), and was associated with significantly increased diagnostic sensitivity (82 vs 60% P=0.012).
The prostate cancer gene 3 (PCA3) test, a urinary diagnostic test for prostate cancer, uses a first-catch urine sample collected after a brief prostate massage (post-massage sample).
The cohort of 88 prostate cancer patients recruited for study together provided 83 pre-massage and 60 post-massage urine samples for Mcm5 immunofluorometric analysis.
Table 3 and Supplementary Figure 1 show the median Mcm5 signal for pre- and post-massage urine samples, for the highest Mcm5 signal group (i.e., Mcm5 signal for pre- or post-massage urine sample, whatever the higher), and for both control groups.
It's hard to believe now, as you collapse on a vast bed in a room that's all dark wood and gracious living, or wander to the Amrita Spa for a soothing massage, or sample the delicious buffet in the Café Monivong, but you can't get away from history in Cambodia, and this is a place – like everywhere else – that saw chaos and terror and death.
Thus post-massage urine samples seem to be an effective target for prostate cancer detection.
