The prostate gland is subject to various disorders. The etiology and pathogenesis of these diseases remain not well understood. Moreover, despite technological advancements, the differential diagnosis of prostate disorders has become progressively more complex and controversial. It was suggested that the lead (Pb) level in prostatic tissue plays an important role in prostatic carcinogenesis and its measurement may be useful as a cancer biomarker. These suggestions promoted more detailed studies of the Pb content in the prostatic tissue of healthy subjects. The present study evaluated by systematic analysis the published data for Pb content analyzed in prostatic tissue of “normal” glands. This evaluation reviewed 1997 studies, all of which were published in the years from 1921 to 2020 and were located by searching the databases Scopus, PubMed, MEDLINE, ELSEVIER-EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and the Web of Science. The articles were analyzed and “Median of Means” and “Range of Means” were used to examine heterogeneity of the measured Pb content in prostates of apparently healthy men. The objective analysis was performed on data from the 26 studies, which included 998 subjects. It was found that the range of means of prostatic Pb content reported in the literature for “normal” gland varies widely from 0.026 mg/kg to 1.6 mg/kg with median of means 0.275 mg/kg on a wet mass basis. The Pb content depends on many factors such as analytical method, age, dietary Pb intake, and smoking. Finally, because of small sample size and high data heterogeneity, we recommend other primary studies be performed.
Keywords/Phrase: Lead; Human prostate; Normal Prostatic Tissue; Biomarkers