Prostate Cancer Screening La Jolla CA
858-784-8569
La Jolla, CA
All about the PSA Test
The PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) test is one of two primary screening tools for prostate cancer. This simple blood test measures the level of PSA, a protein produced in the prostate, present in a man's body. Men typically have an initial PSA screening at 50, or earlier if there's a family history of prostate cancer.
Physicians measure PSA in nanograms per milliliter. An elevated PSA doesn't diagnose cancer and doesn't mean a man has prostate cancer; it just suggests further evaluation. Other medical conditions can also raise PSA levels. A PSA test and additional diagnostic tools help detect small tumors, however, experts say it does not necessarily reduce a man's chance of dying of prostate cancer.
An increase in PSA is the strongest single predictor of prostate cancer risk, and a high PSA score followed by a lower PSA score is not uncommon, even in men who do have cancer. However, PSA progression does predict poor overall survival rates in men with mestacized prostate cancer (meaning it has spread beyond the prostate). The PSA test is actually a better predictor of prostate cancer risk in African-American men with family histories compared to European- American men.
There is controversy over the value of PSA screenings. This spring, researchers released the results of a large-scale study that began in 1992 to evaluate whether or not the PSA test benefited men. In the subsequent media coverage of the results, the news varied widely depending on who was doing the reporting...
