BMC Urology (Nov 2024)

Comparative study of trace metal concentration in the diagnosis of category III prostatitis

  • Zhidi Lin,
  • Muyan Li,
  • Mingjin Zhang,
  • Yimin Gong,
  • Xiang Gan,
  • Weiyuan Liang,
  • Yanjun Tan,
  • Chong Zhang,
  • Qian Gao,
  • Xiaoli Yang

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12894-024-01656-9
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 24, no. 1
pp. 1 – 10

Abstract

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Abstract Background Chronic prostatitis (CP) is one of the general diseases in urological practice, with category III prostatitis being particularly prevalent. The trace metal abnormalities might be a primary cause of prostatitis, however, their specific roles in category III prostatitis remain largely unexplored. Method In total, 42 expressed prostatic secretion (EPS) samples from IIIa prostatitis patients, 42 from IIIb prostatitis patients, and 45 from controls were collected, along with 42 serum samples from IIIa prostatitis patients, 45 from IIIb prostatitis patients, and 50 from controls for analysis in this study. To investigate the diagnostic potential of trace metals in category III prostatitis, we analyzed the concentration of zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) in EPS and serum of patients with category III prostatitis and healthy controls using a flame atomic absorption spectrometer (FAAS). Results The Results showed that the concentrations of Zn, Ca and Mg in both serum and EPS samples of all subjects with category III prostatitis were significantly different compared to controls (all P < 0.05), while Cu levels were significantly altered in all EPS samples (P < 0.000). In the category of IIIa prostatitis group, the levels of Zn, Ca, Mg in EPS, as well as Ca in serum were significantly reduced (all P < 0.000), whereas the serum Zn level was markedly elevated (P < 0.000). In the category IIIb prostatitis group, the EPS levels of Zn, Ca, Mg were decreased significantly (all P < 0.05), and the levels of serum Ca, Mg were markedly decreased (all P < 0.000), however, the EPS Cu level increased significantly (P < 0.05). Moreover, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed that the levels of Mg and Zn/Mg in EPS had better diagnostic value for category IIIa prostatitis (Area Under the ROC Curve(AUC) = 0.796, 0.791, respectively, all P < 0.0001); while Cu and Cu/Ca levels exhibited better diagnostic value for category IIIb prostatitis (AUC = 0.880, 0.901, respectively, all P < 0.0001). Conclusion Summarily, there are significant abnormalities in the concentrations of Cu, Mg, Ca, and Zn in EPS and serum samples of patients with category III prostatitis. The levels of Mg, Cu, Zn/Mg, Cu/Ca in EPS may serve as potential diagnostic markers for category III prostatitis.

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