The level of Prostate specific antigen (PSA) in patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome: Systematic review and Meta-analysis

Several controversial evidences have been recently reported on the use of prostate-specific antigens in the diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). This systematic review and meta-analysis study was performed with aim to determine the levels of prostate-specific antigens (PSA) in patients with PCOS.

In this systematic and meta-analytical review, an electronic search was conducted in the databases of PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Cochran Library. EndNote X6, Stata 14, and Review Manager 5.3 were used to manage the searched articles, data analysis, and quality evaluation. Begg's test and Egger's test were used to evaluate the publication bias.

In this study, 17 studies with 1,467 participants were included. Meta-analysis results showed that the amount of Prostate specific antigen in PCOS patients was significantly higher than the control group (Standardized mean difference: 1.83, 95% CI: 1.26-2.39; P<0.001), and the mean of fPSA was significantly higher in the PCOS group than the control group (Standardized mean difference: 1.25, 95% CI: 0.38-2.12, P=0.005).

The results of this study showed that serum levels of PSA were higher in PCOS patients. It seems that racial differences and differences in assay techniques can affect the levels of PSA levels in PCOS patients. Measurement of the level of this antigen can be helpful in the diagnosis of PCOS.