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A PSA on the PSA test: Men, keep this in mind

So what’s the big deal about a PSA test... A PSA test can detect prostate cancer early, but it may not save lives. It can also give false-positives or false-negatives, causing some men to have additional unnecessary invasive procedures and treatment that can result in urinary and sexual side effects. To make matters more complicated: Just because a man has high levels of PSA in his blood, doesn’t mean he has prostate cancer. Other conditions can elevate PSA level, such as prostatitis. Also, there is no specific normal or abnormal levels of PSA in a man’s blood since PSA levels can vary over time in the same man.

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Featured

 Why rapid at-home PSA tests for prostate cancer are fast, convenient – and unreliable

Positive tests or high PSA levels may cause men to worry unnecessarily. PSA tests are not blood tests for prostate cancer, and a PSA test can neither diagnose nor rule out prostate cancer. Rather, higher levels of PSA indicate a potential problem with the prostate.

Articles of Interest

A Better Prostate-Cancer Test?

Several new prostate-cancer tests aim to reduce needless biopsies and unnecessary treatments by sorting out harmless from aggressive tumors.

Guys: You Don't Want That PSA Test For Prostate Cancer

I learned a new word this week: pseudoepidemic. That's what happens when people start looking really hard for a disease that didn't get much attention earlier, and then–not surprisingly–the disease suddenly becomes much more prevalent. This is precisely what happened with prostate cancer in the early 1990s, just after screening tests for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) became widely available.

Men concerned about prostate cancer should think before asking for a PSA test

Retired urologist Reginald Hall says men should consider the evidence before asking their GP for the screening test.

Myths About PSA Tests and Prostate Cancer Screening

The main screening tool for prostate cancer is the PSA test, which measures levels of a protein called prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in the blood. In the past, some experts have suggested that PSA testing caused more harm than good, saying it can lead to unnecessary biopsies and therapies for cancers that actually don’t need to be treated. Today, the PSA test should be used as one part of the tool kit for finding cancer and identifying which cancers should be treated...

PSA Test

In many cases, men with increased PSA levels do not have cancer, and these men suffer a great deal of anxiety and financial cost as a result of unnecessary biopsies. Additionally, the biopsy itself is associated with a small risk of bleeding and infection. Also, low PSA levels do not necessarily indicate the absence of cancer.

PSA Test – Risks, Reasons, Benefits, Results and Implications

As soon as your doctor recommends you with this test, the initial questions alarming your mind be – What is a PSA Test and why is it done? It is true that the test detects the presence of a specific disease, but which disease! If these and more such questions upset your mind, then this post will be helpful to you.

Should You Get a PSA Test?

Many experts recommend against routine PSA blood screening for prostate cancer, yet many men may still wonder whether they should get one.

Why a one-off PSA test for prostate cancer is doing men more harm than good

The potential for blood tests that detect cancer is huge. But what if a test is, in some ways, too good? What if it finds cancers that if left undetected wouldn’t cause a person any harm? And what if it’s not possible to know for certain which cancers need to be treated, or who could avoid a life-altering diagnosis and potential long-term treatment side effects? This is the situation right now with prostate cancer. There’s no UK screening programme for prostate cancer. That’s because the blood test that would be used – called the PSA (or prostate specific antigen) test – isn’t reliable enough. Men over the age of 50 with no symptoms of prostate cancer can still ask for the test in the UK. But its use is hotly debated around the world.

Why the prostate cancer test is useless

Middle-aged men know the story: the PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test is an essential early-warning system for cancer. Elevated PSA levels mean cancer, which in turn means you should probably make the gutsy but necessary decision to prolong your life by having your prostate removed. Except this story is rubbish. Says who? Says the pathologist who first observed the PSA, back in 1970.

Resources

5 things to know about PSA testing

One question that should be asked about every cancer is: “Who does it affect the most?” Generally, those of African-American descent seem to get prostate cancer more often than other races, as well as more aggressive cancers. Further, white males with history of prostate cancer in their family are also at risk. This might indicate that you should start PSA testing earlier -- around the age of 40. “I think that any man between the age of 50 and their 70s would be the typical patients to get a PSA,” said Dr. Abraham.

Test My PSA

Men are dying because of the failure of healthcare services to add PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) testing as standard when blood screening. We are a campaigning website and Facebook Group aimed at raising issue with the UK Government and NHS failure to have a standard screening programme for Prostate Cancer. Say to your doctor or healthcare professional...

MayoClinic

There is a lot of conflicting advice about PSA testing. To decide whether to have a PSA test, discuss the issue with your doctor, considering your risk factors and weighing your personal preferences.

MedicineNet

The "normal" PSA serum concentration remains a debate, however, for most laboratory readings, it should be less than 4.0 ng/mL.

National Cancer Institute

In addition to prostate cancer, a number of benign (not cancerous) conditions can cause a man’s PSA level to rise. The most frequent benign prostate conditions that cause an elevation in PSA level are prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) (enlargement of the prostate).

Patient

Prostate cancer is a serious condition. The prostate specific antigen (PSA) test is a blood test to see if you might have prostate cancer and to monitor treatment for prostate cancer. The PSA blood level is also increased in other conditions. So having an increased PSA test result does not mean that you have prostate cancer. Experts disagree on how useful the PSA test is. There is a lot of ongoing research about PSA.

StatPearls

Serum PSA is far superior to digital rectal examination (DRE) and transrectal prostatic ultrasonography (TRUS) for detecting early prostate cancer. When using a PSA value greater than 4 ng/mL, detection rates for prostate cancer achieve a specificity of 91%. In contrast, a digital rectal examination is far less specific, at only 59%.