A cross-sectional study of the international prostate symptom scores related to age and gender in Dutch adults reporting no voiding complaints.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the IPSS in a selected population reporting no voiding complaints. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: 1143 adults without voiding complaints were included. They were divided over both sexes and all decades. All subjects filled out questionnaires including the IPSS. Statistical analysis was aimed at relating the IPSS to age and gender. RESULTS: The IPSS in both sexes shows a gradual significant increase in consecutive age groups. Men in the third age decade have a mean score of 2.8, while men older than 70 years of age have a score of 7.0. In women these scores are 4.0 and 5.6 respectively. The increase is about equally caused by storage and voiding scores. The items addressing weak stream in men and nocturia and urgency in men and women are the major factors causing the correlation with age. Nearly 17% of all subjects have moderate symptom scores and 1% has severe scores. CONCLUSION: In both adult men and women reporting no voiding complaints the IPSS increases with age. This rise is more prominent in males.

Cell cycle perturbations and radiosensitization effects in a human prostate cancer cell line.

PURPOSE: To test the hypothesis that radiation-induced, transient G2/M arrest could potentially sensitize tumor cells to a subsequent, well-timed radiation dose. METHODS: PC-3 human prostate cancer cells were treated using either radiotherapy or (186)Re-labeled hydroxyethylidene diphosphonate ((186)Re-HEDP) treatment in different combinations. The resulting cell cycle shift and clonogenic cell death were analyzed by DNA flow cytometry and colony forming cell assay, respectively. RESULTS: Radiation doses of 4 Gy and 8 Gy induced a transient G2/M arrest, with a maximum after approximately 16 h. The presence of 2 mM pentoxifylline effectively abrogated this radiation-induced G2 M arrest, confirming a cell-cycle checkpoint-mediated effect. A second dose of 4 Gy, timed at the height of the G2/M arrest, significantly increased clonogenic cell-kill compared to delivery after a suboptimal interval (10 h, 20 h or 25 h after the first radiation fraction). Moreover, timed second doses of 2 Gy, 3 Gy or 4 Gy yielded improved normalized treatment effects compared to non-pretreated control. Radionuclide treatment of PC-3 cells, using (186)Re-HEDP (0.74 MBq/ml and 1.48 MBq/ml; total dose: 4.1 and 8.2 Gy, respectively) also induced a dose-dependent G2/M accumulation, which sensitized the cells to a subsequent external radiation dose of 2 Gy or 4 Gy. The observed pattern of cell-cycle shift towards a predominance of the G2/M phase is in line with the lack of functional p53 in this cell line. CONCLUSIONS: Radiation-induced cell-cycle shift was shown to effectively confer increased radiosensitivity to prostate tumor cells. Optimally timed combination of radiotherapy and radionuclide therapy could thus significantly increase treatment efficacy.