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| What
is PSA?: |
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PSA
is a protein that is made in the prostate.
This substance can be increased in the bloodstream
in cancers and in other medical conditions.
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|
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| It
has also been shown that once a diagnosis
of cancer has been made, the higher the PSA
the greater the chance that the tumor has
spread to lymph nodes and distant areas in
the body. |
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| These
include: |
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Benign
conditions such as infections and inflammation
of the prostate gland, known as prostatitis
(increased level) |
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Benign
prostatic hyperplasia (increased
level) |
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Following
sexual activity (increased
level) |
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The
use of Propecia (decreased
level) |
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The
use of an herb known as saw palmetto,
which is used for benign prostatic hypertrophy
(decreased level) |
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| It
is interesting that the PSA level can
also be normal in patients who have prostate
cancer. |
|
PSA
is usually reported in a special unit called a nanogram.
Normal levels of PSA are usually less than 4. Levels
that are possibly related to a prostate cancer range
between 4 and 10, and those that are highly suspicious
for cancer have a PSA greater than 10.
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| Another
PSA test, known as the percent free-PSA,
is also being tested to see if it can improve on
what the PSA blood test shows. This test determines
how much free or unattached PSA is in the blood
and how much is "bound" or attached to
special molecules. If the percent of free PSA is
less than 25% and your PSA is greater than 4, it
is believed that this is very suspicious for being
due to a prostate cancer. |
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