Prostate Specific Antigen PSA

Does Your PSA Indicate Cancer?

Prostate Specific Antigen or PSA, is an enzyme found in a man's blood produced exclusively by prostate cells. An abnormal rise in PSA, can indicate Prostate Cancer. Higher levels of PSA are found in the blood as prostate cancer cells begin to proliferate in an uncontrolled way.

Normal PSA levels in the blood are very small amounts between 0-2.5 ng/ml. As a man ages his prostate becomes larger, leading to slightly higher normal levels of PSA. It is important to have your PSA and prostate exam as part of your yearly physical.

Prostate Cancer Screen – PSA Blood Test combined with Digital Rectal Exam, DRE

Testing for PSA, requires that a man’s blood be drawn and sent to the lab for analysis. If higher than normal levels are discovered, action is recommended. Levels greater than 2.5 ng/ml, can have many different causes. Prostate Cancer is one cause. But elevated PSA levels doesn’t necessarily mean prostate cancer. PSA can also rise for benign, non-cancerous conditions such as enlarged prostate, prostate inflammation, infection, or trauma. Get checked by your doctor.

IMPORTANT: ALL ELEVATED LEVELS OF PSA SHOULD BE CHECKED.

When screening for prostate cancer, the PSA test should be combined with a Digital Rectal Exam, DRE. During a DRE exam, the Doctor inserts a gloved and lubricated finger into the rectum. The posterior of the prostate can be examined for irregularities. Occasionally, the PSA is elevated but the DRE, does not reveal any abnormalities. Sometimes the opposite is true, and PSA is normal, but the DRE is abnormal. For this reason, the Prostate Specific Antigen PSA blood test combined with the DRE is best for early detection.

To Learn more about the tests that confirm prostate cancer click on our Menu above, under Prostate Cancer.

PSA is measured by a simple blood test. The typical test for diagnosis and risk group determination is the “total PSA” which is simply a measure of all the PSA. Since the amount of PSA in the blood is very low, detection of it requires a very sensitive technology (monoclonal antibody technique). This test should be part of a man’s yearly exam, starting somewhere after age forty five.

Is your PSA elevated?

If your PSA is rising you need to make an informed decision about how to treat your prostate cancer. Print or Download your copy of ‘The Study’ comparing treatment outcomes for thousands of men with prostate cancer.

Use the Study when you Consult with your Doctor!

Click Here to get your copy of the Study!

Get The Study

PSA Monitoring Following Treatment

Prostate Specific Antigen or PSA is important for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. Sometimes prostate cancer treatment does not eradicate the cancer. That is why PSA monitoring after treatment is so important. Normal prostate cells and prostate cancer cells will make PSA even if they are outside the prostate. Returning prostate cancer cells, confined to the prostate or that have spread to the bone or lymph nodes, will cause the PSA to rise. PSA monitoring following treatment is a proven method for determining prostate treatment effectiveness or success.

LEARN TO FIGHT PROSTATE CANCER

Top Ten Steps - Fight Prostate Cancer

Learn the Top Ten Steps, a guide through knowledge about the prostate, prostate cancer, diagnosis and treatment. Watch our video, introducing Edward Weber, MD. and hear his advice to men just diagnosed with prostate cancer. Get expert advice for your fight against Prostate Cancer.

Learn The Steps

PSA and Age

Austrian Researchers in the Tyrol PCa Early Detection Program, (PLoS ONE. 10(7):e0134134, 2015), have researched what PSA levels within age ranges should raise concern about the likelihood of significant prostate cancer. Based on age, what PSA level might trigger a referral to a urologist? Using these PSA trigger levels they “detected all relevant PCa with a significant reduction of biopsies.”

Age Range	PSA Trigger Levels
Less Than 59 Years	PSA 1.75 ng/mL
Between 60-69 years	PSA 2.25 ng/ml
Greater than 70 years	PSA 3.25 ng/mL

What is “Free PSA?”

Free PSA is a diagnostics test separate and unique from the standard PSA Blood Test. Total PSA is the sum of the free and the bound forms. Most PSA binds to other proteins in the blood. The remaining unattached PSA is named “free” PSA. Men with a lower percentage of free PSA have a higher risk for prostate cancer. For example, a man whose total PSA is 6.0 ng/ml with a 10 percent free PSA has a higher likelihood of having prostate cancer than another patient whose total PSA also is 6.0 ng/ml but with 35 percent free PSA. Therefore a high free PSA percentage is good. Free PSA is not used to monitor results after treatment only to evaluate risk before diagnosis. The free PSA test is particularly helpful in situations where a biopsy is negative but the PSA is slightly high. If there is a low free PSA, another biopsy 6-12 months later is usually recommended. If it is high, then a longer wait is usually recommended.

The free PSA test is a road sign to help determine whether further work-up and follow-up is necessary. A high free PSA does not guarantee that a person is free of prostate cancer. In some cases, a biopsy of a nodule will turn up prostate cancer despite a low overall total PSA and a high level free PSA. The total PSA is what is measured with the standard PSA test.

Remission versus Recurrence?

Relapse of prostate cancer is way more common than you might think. Many men treated for prostate cancer have their cancer return, which can lead to a lifetime of treatment. Prostate Cancer Free studies treatment outcomes documented in "The STUDY", recently updated for 2021. Take this Study to your doctor, and discuss your chance of cancer recurrence. The Study is available with the new, just released booklet, to help you learn about prostate cancer. Both the Prostate Cancer Free Study and the booklet, “What You Need to Know About Prostate Cancer” are available NOW for you to VIEW, PRINT or DOWNLOAD.