['Although black men with and without prostatic carcinoma in general have higher levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA) than other racial groups, the cause is unknown. Previous studies have shown that black men produce greater PSA per cc of benign gland volume. We determined whether prostatic inflammation varied by race and could account for the racial difference in PSA among prostate cancer patients.', 'Between April 1993 and February 1997, 238 patients underwent radical prostatectomy for clinically localized prostate cancer at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and whole mounted specimens were processed at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. Cases were reviewed by 2 pathologists (W. Z. and I. A. S.) blinded to clinical information, and scored for inflammation as 0--rare; 1--mild, 10 to 15 small foci; 2--moderate, greater than 15 foci with a large area or greater than 20 small foci; 3--marked, greater than 20 small foci with a large area, and 4--diffuse, multiple large areas. The extent of inflammation was correlated to pretreatment PSA and other variables.', 'A total of 181 white and 57 black men were evaluated. Of the patients 28 were excluded from analysis due to prior hormonal therapy. The percentage of patients with inflammation scores from 1 to 4 was higher among white (113 of 161, 70.2%) than black (30 of 49, 61.2%) men but this difference was not significant (p = 0.299) and the extent of inflammation was not significantly related to racial variation in serum PSA.'] Is inflammatory infiltrate ( prostatitis ) in whole mounted radical prostatectomy specimens from black and white patients an etiology for racial difference in prostate specific antigen?