A New Approach for Chronic Pelvic Pain

Review identifies promising biomarkers and imaging approaches that could support more personalized diagnosis and treatment of chronic prostatitis

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Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome causes persistent pelvic pain, urinary difficulties, and sexual dysfunction, but diagnosis is challenging because symptoms vary and reliable biomarkers
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The review describes CP/CPPS as involving interconnected prostate inflammation, pain-processing pathways, immune activity, metabolism, and gut microorganisms.
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Persistent inflammation may sensitize pelvic nerves and alter central pain processing, potentially explaining symptoms that continue after local inflammation subsides.
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Candidate diagnostic approaches include inflammatory and metabolic markers, multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging, microbiome analysis, and symptom-based assessment.
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The authors note that current evidence is limited and call for prospective studies and clinical trials to validate subgroups and test mechanism-guided treatment.

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