The PSA test was considered a major breakthrough when it was approved for use by the FDA in the mid 1980s and today it remains one of the best tests available for detecting the possible presence of prostate cancer.
PSA testing is quick and easy as it is a simple blood test looking for the presence in the blood of a specific protein produced by the prostate gland. In a normal prostate gland the quantity of this protein produces a level in the blood of about 4 nanograms per milliliter and this is assigned a normal PSA score of 4. As with most things of course this level will vary from one individual to another and so a slightly higher or lower level is not necessarily an indication of a problem and many men will have a normal PSA score of as high as 8 or 9.
In the presence of cancer production of this protein rises and, as the cancer progresses, so the level of the prostate specific protein in the blood increases. Accordingly, once a PSA score reaches 10 your doctor will want to monitor PSA levels carefully as this is an initial indicator of a possible developing problem. If your PSA score continues to rise then additional and more specific tests will normally be recommended. As an indicator, a PSA score of 50 is considered to be very high and the level at which not only is the presence of cancer very likely, but such cancer will probably have already spread beyond the prostate gland itself.
Prostate specific antigens appear in two forms within the blood. In the first form antigens attach themselves to the blood proteins, while in the other the antigens are simply free floating. Today it is possible to test for both by measuring the total amount of PSA in the blood and by measuring only free PSA in the blood. Being able to separate out the two different forms of PSA is thought by many doctors to produce a more accurate test and in a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1995 it was said that the ability to measure free PSA had led to a twenty percent fall in the number of unnecessary follow-up tests following PSA tests.
Perhaps the biggest controversy today is not over whether men should undergo regular (annual) PSA testing which almost all physicians today recommend, but at what age such testing should begin.
Both The American Cancer Society and The American Urological Association recommend testing for all men over the age of 50 and testing for men in 'at risk' categories from the age of 40 onwards. There are several 'at risk' categories, the most important of which is men with a family history of prostate cancer.
Unfortunately, these recommendations probably have more to do with resources and cost than with anything else and it is not uncommon for men to develop prostate cancer in their forties, or even in their thirties. So, where do we go from here?
Well, this must of course be a personal decision but an increasing number of men are now asking to be tested at quite young ages (typically when they reach 40) to provide a benchmark and then decide on the frequency of follow-up testing depending on their initial result. For example, if a 40 year old man has a normal initial PSA score of 4 then he may decide to leave further testing for 2 or 3 years. However, if his initial test score comes in at 8, he may decide to have a follow-up after six months and, if it remains the same or has fallen, to then have tests annually.
When you start testing and how often you have follow-up testing is very much a personal decision to be taken in consultation with your physician. What is important is that every man should be tested regularly and you should not put off testing for too long.
Prostate cancer The reason of calling this disease in this name is that the cancers attack the prostate, which is a gland in the male reproductive system. The reason of this disease is a change occurs in the prostate and it starts to multiply more than the normal. It's possible that the infected cells these cells may expand to other parts of the body, specifically the bones and lymph nodes.
Prostate cancer rates are varying widely beyond the world. And these rates also vary widely among countries, it is not very common in South and East Asia, you can find it more common in Europe, and most common in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is least common among Asian men and most common among black men, with number for white men in-between. However, these high rates may be affected by increasing rates of detection.
Prostate cancer grows mostly in men over fifty. This cancer can attack only in men, as the prostate is exclusively of the male reproductive tract. It is the most common type of cancer in men in the United States, where it is responsible for more male deaths than any other cancer, except lung cancer. However, many men who develop prostate cancer never have symptoms, undergo no therapy, and eventually die of other causes. Many factors, including genetics and diet, have been implicated in the development of prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer is most often discovered by physical examination or by screening blood tests, such as the PSA (prostate specific antigen) test. There is some current concern about the accuracy of the PSA test and its usefulness. Suspected prostate cancer is typically confirmed by removing a piece of the prostate (biopsy) and examining it under a microscope. Further tests, such as X-rays and bone scans, may be performed to determine whether prostate cancer has spread.
Prostate cancer can be treated with surgery, radiation therapy, hormonal therapy, sometimes chemotherapy, proton therapy, or some combination of these. The age and underlying health of the man as well as the extent of spread, appearance under the microscope, and response of the cancer to initial treatment are important in determining the outcome of the disease. Since prostate cancer is a disease of older men, many will die of other causes before a slowly advancing prostate cancer can spread or cause symptoms. This makes treatment selection difficult.[5] The decision whether or not to treat localized prostate cancer (a tumor that is contained within the prostate) with curative intent is a patient trade-off between the expected beneficial and harmful effects in terms of patient survival and quality of life.
Both Donald Saunders & Yousef are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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