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What Is a PSA Medical Test?

In men, the prostate gland releases a protein called prostate-specific antigen (PSA) into the blood. A PSA medical test measures how much prostate-specific antigen is in the blood.

  1. Healthy PSA

    • Healthy men have low PSA blood levels. As a man ages, his PSA level normally increases as his prostrate naturally becomes larger.

    High PSA

    • A high PSA level can occur because of inflammation of the prostate gland (prostatitis) or prostate cancer. Other reasons for a temporarily high PSA level are an injury, a digital rectal exam or sexual activity.

    About PSA Tests

    • PSA test results are usually reported as nanograms of PSA per milliliter (ng/mL) of blood. According to the National Cancer Institute, there is no specific normal or abnormal PSA level, and opinions vary among doctors as to when to run additional tests.

    Considerations

    • High PSA by itself is not enough to diagnose any condition, but doctors may use it to decide what other tests to run.

    Cautions

    • According to the National Cancer Institute, using the PSA test to screen men for prostate cancer is controversial because whether this test actually saves lives is not yet known. Also, the benefits of PSA screening may not outweigh the risks of follow-up diagnostic tests and cancer treatments.

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