Risk of Cancer in PSA Levels

As cancer is far easier to treat the earlier it is detected, methods of detecting precancerous situations are often used to clue physicians in to areas of the body where additional scrutiny might be required. One such test for men measures the PSA (prostate specific antigen) levels in the body. Abnormalities in these levels can be a clue that cancer has begun brewing.

Prostate Cancer

• Prostate cancer risk grows when moving into old age. Symptoms of prostate cancer include urinary problems (inability to urinate, trouble halting urination, frequent urge to urinate), blood in the urine, pain coupled with urination or ejaculation, and unexpected weight loss.

Prostate and PSA Levels

• The prostate gland itself is a small, almond-sized gland that is behind the penis and in front of the anus. According to the National Cancer Institute, the prostate gland naturally secretes a substance called PSA. Increases in PSA level are a preliminary signal that something is amiss in the body, whether it is a benign condition like prostate hyperplastia or a troublesome condition like cancer.

PSA Test

• A PSA test is a blood test that provides your physician with a snapshot of your PSA levels. Generally speaking, the higher your PSA level the more likely that something is wrong. According to the National Cancer Institute, the old accepted standard for PSA was that any reading below 4.0ng/mL was considered normal. Later research has called these findings into doubt.

Cancer Risk

• According to the National Cancer Institute, the current prevailing view is that there is no clearly identifiable "normal" range for PSA level. In one study cited by the National Cancer Institute and published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2004, 25 to 35 percent of men with PSA levels between 4.0 and 9.9 had existing prostate cancer. However, roughly 15 percent of men with PSA levels below 4.0 had cancer as well, so the line in the sand for dangerous PSA levels is hardly clear.

Considerations

• While there might be no generally accepted "high" value for PSA levels, there will be a high value for individual patients. The best way to use this to your advantage is to have regular PSA testing performed so that a subjective baseline can be established for you. This will allow both you and your doctor the best chance of using PSA levels as an effective tool for gauging the presence of prostate cancer.