Situación actual de la RTU de próstata en pacientes con PSA elevado

objectives: the aim of this review is to evaluate the place of transurethral resection of the prostate (turp) in patients with elevated and/or rising prostate specific antigen (psa). the role of turp in these patients is assessed in symptomatic as well as in asymptomatic patients. methods: current literature (1987-2009) was reviewed with regard to this specific population. this research was performed using the medline online search tools. results: initially, possible therapeutic strategies other than turp could be used in patients with elevated and/ or rising psa values and no sign of proven prostate cancer. consequently, the value of turp in patients with elevated and/or rising psa and no proven prostate cancer is discussed. in this setting, turp can be executed with or without concomitant prostate biopsies. furthermore, turp can be proposed to patients with and without lower urinary tract symptoms. conclusions: in this review, we evaluated the role of turp in patients with elevated and/or rising psa values and no proven prostate cancer. we believe turp has a place in this particular population even in patients without lower urinary tract symptoms. this strategy is well founded on solid ground after an extensive review of the available literature. in most cases, a turp will result in a normalization of psa as well as a symptomatic benefit. additionally, this procedure will allow histological evaluation which might show a possible life threatening prostate cancer in some patients.