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Medical Reasons for an Elevated PSA

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a protein produced in the prostate of every man. When the prostate size increases, the PSA levels usually follow suit. Doctors often look to PSA levels to determine if the patient's prostate health should be scrutinized further.

  1. Age

    • Patients of advanced age often experience elevated PSA levels due to age-related growth. It is normal for a man's prostate to increase in size as he ages, per the University of Maryland Medical Center.

    Orgasm

    • When men orgasm it temporarily increases PSA levels. Often doctors will recommend refraining from orgasm for two days or more before PSA testing.

    Prostatitis

    • Prostatitis simply means swollen prostate. Prostatitis, or massage treatment for prostatitis, often leads to elevated PSA levels.

    BPH

    • Benign prostatic hypertrophy, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), and adenofibromyomatous hyperplasia are all terms for enlargement of the prostate due to the formation of nodules near the urethra and bladder. All cause elevated PSA levels, per .

    Testing

    • Men who have recently had a digital rectal exam or a prostate biopsy may have a temporarily elevated PSA level.

    Prostate Cancer

    • Of the men that show an elevated PSA level, about 25 percent will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, per "Surviving Prostate Cancer" by E. Fuller Torrey.

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