Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA)Test Overview
Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is
a substance released into a man's blood by his prostate gland. A PSA test measures the amount of prostate-specific antigen in the blood. Low amounts of PSA may be found in
the blood of healthy men. The amount of PSA in the blood normally increases
as a
man's prostate enlarges with age. It is
also increased by inflammation of the prostate gland (prostatitis) and by prostate cancer.
Before having a PSA test, you
should consider what you will do if your PSA level is found to be high. Prostate
cancer often grows very slowly, without causing major problems. Detecting
prostate cancer early and treating it may prevent some cancer-related health
problems and reduce the risk of dying from the cancer. However, some treatments
for prostate cancer can cause complications, such as the inability to control
urination (incontinence) or the inability to have an erection (erectile dysfunction).
Therefore, some men may reasonably choose not to treat prostate cancer if
it is detected. These men do not need a PSA test. For example, a man older than
age 75 who has no bothersome symptoms of prostate cancer may choose not to
treat the cancer if it is found, so he would not need a PSA test.
Making the decision about PSA testing
This test is done on a blood sample
taken from a vein.
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