Open Access

RESIDENT’S CORNER

Aggressive prostate cancer masquerading as acute prostatitis

Kostantinos E. Morris^*, Dominic Grimberg^*, Rohith Arcot, Judd W. Moul

Division of Urology, Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA
* denotes co-authorship
Address correspondence to Dr. Judd W. Moul, DUMC Box 3707 Med Ctr, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27710 USA

Canadian Journal of Urology 2021, 28(4), 10799-10801.

Abstract

Prostatitis is a common cause of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) elevation but can masquerade underlying prostate cancer. We present a case of a man with undiagnosed prostate cancer whose initial PSA elevation of > 999.0 ng/mL was initially ascribed entirely to prostatitis. In the setting of possible prostatitis clinicians should avoid the knee jerk reaction to blame the totality of PSA elevation on prostatitis. A greatly elevated PSA may be a sign of an underlying prostate cancer and should be explored in the proper clinical setting.

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