Prostate volume and PSA density calculator

Note to first time users: due to the below detailed ongoing discussions and lack of widely accepted cutoff values this calculator does not automatically provide recommendations. Please refer to the ‘Notes’ section for further information.

Notes

Prostate volume formula
  • This calculator uses the ellipsoid formula: H × W × L × 0.523 based on the height (H), width (W), and length (L) of the prostate
  • The normal prostate measures approximately 3 × 3 × 5 centimeters, and has a volume of about 25 mL
  • The most commonly used threshold for prostatomegaly is >30 mL

Murciano-Goroff YR, Wolfsberger LD, Parekh A, Fennessy FM, Tuncali K, Orio PF 3rd, Niedermayr TR, Suh WW, Devlin PM, Tempany CM, Sugar EH, O’Farrell DA, Steele G, O’Leary M, Buzurovic I, Damato AL, Cormack RA, Fedorov AY, Nguyen PL. Variability in MRI vs. ultrasound measures of prostate volume and its impact on treatment recommendations for favorable-risk prostate cancer patients: a case series. Radiat Oncol. 2014 Sep 9;9:200. doi: 10.1186/1748-717X-9-200. PMID: 25205146; PMCID: PMC4261899.

Mitterberger M, Horninger W, Aigner F, Pinggera GM, Steppan I, Rehder P, Frauscher F. Ultrasound of the prostate. Cancer Imaging. 2010 Mar 3;10(1):40-8. doi: 10.1102/1470-7330.2010.0004. PMID: 20199941; PMCID: PMC2842183.

  • Note that age significantly influences prostate volume with one study of caucasian participants showing a gradual increase of mean prostate volume from 24 to 38 mL between the age groups of 50-54 years and those >75

Berges R, Oelke M. Age-stratified normal values for prostate volume, PSA, maximum urinary flow rate, IPSS, and other LUTS/BPH indicators in the German male community-dwelling population aged 50 years or older. World J Urol. 2011 Apr;29(2):171-8. doi: 10.1007/s00345-010-0638-z. Epub 2011 Jan 8. PMID: 21221974.

Prostate specific antigen (PSA) density
  • PSA density is defined as the serum PSA level (ng/mL) divided by the volume of the prostate gland (mL), its unit is therefore ng/mL2
  • Note that while several studies adopted a threshold of 0.15 ng/mL2 recent investigations also found that a threshold of 0.10 and 0.15 ng/mL2 resulted in the detection of only 77 and 49% of clinically significant prostate cancers respectively

Nordström T, Akre O, Aly M, Grönberg H, Eklund M. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) density in the diagnostic algorithm of prostate cancer. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis. 2018 Apr;21(1):57-63. doi: 10.1038/s41391-017-0024-7. Epub 2017 Dec 19. PMID: 29259293.

  • According to one recent study patients with elevated PSA level (>4 ng/mL) could be stratified based on biopsy history, and the following cutoffs can be used:
    • no prior prostate biopsy: <0.10 ng/mL2
    • prior negative biopsy: <0.15 ng/mL2

Bruno SM, Falagario UG, d’Altilia N, Recchia M, Mancini V, Selvaggio O, Sanguedolce F, Del Giudice F, Maggi M, Ferro M, Porreca A, Sciarra A, De Berardinis E, Bettocchi C, Busetto GM, Cormio L, Carrieri G. PSA Density Help to Identify Patients With Elevated PSA Due to Prostate Cancer Rather Than Intraprostatic Inflammation: A Prospective Single Center Study. Front Oncol. 2021 May 20;11:693684. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2021.693684. PMID: 34094990; PMCID: PMC8173030.

Further reading

Last updated: 2022-06-12