The Facts About PSA
Arm yourself—Learn the facts about PSA tests and get screened for prostate cancer.
The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test helps physicians detect prostate cancer before symptoms appear. Because PSA is a protein produced by the prostate gland, PSA levels themselves do not reveal cancer. "All men may have a low level of PSA," says urologic oncologist Angelo Baccala Jr., M.D., of Lehigh Valley Health Network. "Elevated PSA levels are simply an indication prostate cancer may be present."
Non-cancerous conditions such as an enlarged or inflamed prostate also can cause an elevated PSA. Men with a family history of prostate cancer—and African-American men—should begin annual PSA tests at age 40.
This page last updated 1/27/11 02:41 PM
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