The Federal Drug Administration approved the PSA test to be used with a rectal exam to detect prostate cancer. The PSA is just one tool a doctor has available to detect prostate cancer if a man is not showing any other symptoms of prostate problems. The PSA can detect small tumors but it does not actually reduce the chances of a man dying of prostate cancer. The test may detect slow-growing tumors but if the cancer is aggressive and has already spread to other parts of body, the PSA test may not help.
The Prostate Cancer PSA test may also give a false positive result because the levels may be high but there is no cancer present. If a patient gets a result that shows a positive high-level it may mean he will be sent for more medical procedures. These procedures have some risks and some of these tests are expensive. The financial costs of these tests can cause extra anxiety for the patient and the patients family. Most men who have high levels of PSA are found not to have cancer. Only 25-30 percent of those patients who have high levels of PSA are later found to have cancer after having a biopsy.
There is also a possibility that a patient may receive a false negative test results. This means the Prostate Cancer PSA test will come back as negative or normal when the patient has cancer. Most prostate cancer cases are slow growing and a patient may even have cancer for many years before it is detected. The cancer will gradually grow and when they are large enough will result in symptoms.
There is a controversy about the use of the PSA test. It has not been shown that it actually saves lives and there is still a debate about having follow-up tests and cancer treatments. The Prostate Cancer PSA test can detect small cancer cells that may never grow large enough to cause a problem. If tests and surgeries follow, they may cause added medical problems that could have been avoided. This may put men at risk for over treatment. Surgery and radiation could be avoided if the cancer is not growing or likely to grow.
A prostate biopsy is a normal follow up procedure and there are risks involved with this procedure. Bleeding and infection can occur and prostate cancer treatments may cause erectile dysfunction and urine incontinence. All of these risks should be considered when deciding to have additional screening or treatment after a high PSA test result.
Research is still being done to decide if yearly PSA tests will result in a decreased risk of dying of prostate cancer. The National Cancer Institute is conducting screenings right now to see if some screening tests do reduce the number of deaths caused by prostate, lung, colorectal, and ovarian cancer. It will be several years before the results of this study are complete. Scientists and researchers are searching for ways to see the difference in benign or malignant and fast or slow growing cancers.
Prostate Cancer Psa Test
What is PSA?
PSA is prostate specific antigen. PSA is a protease (protein) secreted the prostate gland. Its levels in the blood are elevated in men with both benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer. PSA is now an accepted and routine screening test for prostate cancer.
The PSA Test
PSA presence in the blood is very low, so its detection requires a very sensitive type of technology.
The test uses the monoclonal antibody technique. The PSA protein exists both in the blood by itself, and joined with other substances. By itself, it is free PSA, and joined with other substances, bound PSA.
The term ?Total PSA? is the total both forms. The PSA test gives the result of the Total PSA
Results of the PSA Test
The highest normal level of Total PSA is 4 nanograms per milliliter, or ng/mL. Statistics show men's prostate gland will generally increases in size and produces more PSA with increasing age.
Therefore aging has a great role in the actual results of the test. However, doctors would be concerned with anyone who had a result of over 4.5 ng/mL, and would generally do a biopsy to determine physically if cancer were present
Specific Use of the PSA Test for Cancer
Doctors are using the PSA test now in two ways. First as a screening test to determine elevated PSA levels (which might indicate cancer, but can also indicate other conditions as well), or as a monitor test for those who are known to have prostate cancer.
With the screening technique, any increased levels over 4.5 ng/mL require further investigation. As a monitoring test, high levels of PSA can indicate the growing or reducing threat of cancer.
However an abnormal result also can indicate a recurrence of prostate cancer following therapy.
For example, in men with a surgically removed prostate gland (prostatectomy), where all of the cancer was contained, a PSA test should result in 0. However, if in these men the PSA test is positive or shows increasing levels, it shows the cancer was not successfully removed and / or it has spread.
PSA Also Can Show Non-Cancerous Conditions
The PSA test result can indicate conditions other than cancer.
Often a higher PSA test result indicates benign prostatic hypertrophy, which his enlargement or hyperplasia of the prostate gland. These conditions are due to an increase aging in certain men.
Also infection of the prostate gland, known as prostatitis, will cause an abnormal elevation of PSA.
There are other conditions also which can result in higher levels of PSA that are non-cancerous.
In each case however, the doctor will first perform a biopsy to determine if cancer cells are present.
The Free PSA Test
Free PSA in the blood exists as well as bound PSA, and there is now a test for Free PSA. Studies have shown that levels of free PSA decrease in men with prostate cancer.
The Free PSA levels in men with benign conditions will not decrease. Levels of Free PSA differ from test procedure to test procedure, but in any case, it is a good indication of the presence of cancer if the levels are shown to be decreasing.
Who Should Test for PSA
Any many over 40 years old now should test for PSA. Every man over 50 must test for PSA to insure that if there is a problem, it can be treated early. Consult your physician if this article concerns you.
Both Verlyn Ross & Sacha Tarkovsky 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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