Correlation of serum interleukin-8 levels and prostate volume to the degree of lower urinary tract symptoms in patients with benign prostate enlargement: a cross-sectional study

Benign prostatic enlargement (BPE) and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-8 (IL-8)-associated which causes epithelial hyperplasia of the prostate transitional zone. This study aimed to determine the correlation between the levels of IL-8 serum and the prostate volume with the degree of LUTS severity in patients with BPE. Determination of the correlation between serum IL-8 levels and prostate volume with the LUTS severity degree was conducted using a cross-sectional approach. The International Prostate Symptom Score was used to measure the LUTS severity degree, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique was used to measure the serum IL-8 level, and the transabdominal ultrasonography (TAUS) was used to measure the prostate volume. The sample used in this study was 32 patients with BPE grouped by the degree of LUTS severity of the patients. The correlation between variables was then analyzed using the Pearson correlation test. The prostate volume was higher in severe LUTS degree (38.19 cc) than in the mild LUTS degree (13.05 cc). The levels of serum IL-8 were higher in the severe LUTS degree (21.65 pg/mL) than in the mild LUTS degree (8.44 pg/m). Both the levels of serum IL-8 and the degree of LUTS did not have a significant correlation with the volume of prostate (p > 0.05). On the other side, the prostate volume and the degree of LUTS severity had a significant positive correlation (p = 0.001, R = 0.913). The prostate volume and the levels of serum IL-8 are higher in the severe LUTS degree. There is a trend of increasing prostate volume with the severity of LUTS symptoms and higher serum IL-8 levels. The severity of prostate enlargement can be assessed by measuring the levels of IL-8 in the serum.