A Systematic review of the calcium content of the normal human prostate gland

Abstract

Abstract Introduction: There is much lack of knowledge concerning most prostatic malfunction, especially the reasons and detailed nature of its pathologies. In spite of advances in medical science, the differential diagnosis of prostatic pathologies has steadily increased in complexity and controversy. A proposal has been made that prostatic calcium (Ca) content determinations may aid in resolving these issues for prostate disorders and especially as an indicator of its carcinoma risk. As a result many measurements of normal prostatic Ca have been made. Materials and methods: Here we analyze data published concerning Ca prostatic levels in healthy subjects. In all 1911 items in the literature of the years dating back to 1921 were identified in the following databases: PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Scopus, Web of Science and ELSEVIER-EMBASE. This data was subject to an analysis employing both the “range” and “median” of means. In this way the disparate nature of published Ca content of normal prostates was evaluated. From the papers examined, 36 were selected for the objective analysis of data from their 1357 healthy patients. Results: On a wet mass basis prostatic Ca levels spanned the interval from 73 mg/kg to 1280 mg/kg with 360 mg/kg as the median of their means. It is accepted that the prostatic Ca content is contingent on a wide variety of aspects of the host's milieu, including androgen levels, zone of human prostate sampled, relative amounts of different types of prostatic tissue studied, Ca content of food and drink, Ca supplement intake, age, and the method of analysis. Conclusions: The data encompassed a wide range of values and the sample was small, hence it is advisable that further studies be performed.