How to Interpret Your PSA Score

As men get older, they need to be more concerned about their prostate increasing in size, which can lead to decreased urine flow and cancer. Through prostate screening, you can determine if there is any abnormality with the masculine gland found in front of the rectum and underneath the bladder. One such screening is the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. PSA is protein created mainly by the prostate cells, and the PSA test assesses the amount of protein in the blood.

Instructions

Procedure

• 1

  Have a blood sample taken. Your blood sample will be sent to a lab to determine the amount of PSA in your blood. Meet with your physician to interpret your PSA score.

• 2

  Keep in mind that your results will be given in nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml). The lower the score, the less likely you are to have prostate cancer.

• 3

  Hope your PSA level is lower than 4 ngl/ml, which is considered a "normal" level, according to the John Hopkins Prostate Bulletin. If your test comes back between 4 and 10 ng/ml, your result is considered borderline, and you have a 20 to 30 percent chance of having prostate cancer.

• 4

  Understand that the higher your PSA test results are, the greater your risk of having prostate cancer. If your result falls between 10 and 20 ng/ml, you have a 50 to 75 percent chance of having prostate cancer, according to the John Hopkins Prostate Bulletin. If your results are higher than 20 ng/ml, there is a 90 percent chance that you will be diagnosed with prostate cancer.

• 5

  Have a biopsy done if you have a high PSA level, over 10ng/ml. Samples of your prostate tissue will be taken and then examined under a microscope to see if it is cancerous.