PSA (Prostate specific antigen) is considered to be a substance created by the cells present within the prostate gland. It develops mainly in semen and also in blood. The best cancer doctors in Gurgaon are sure to diagnose and provide the best available treatment helping the patient to lead a normal, happy, disease-free life.
Tests used for screening prostate cancer
There are two tests conducted, which are:
- PSA (Prostate Particular Antigen) test: It measures PSA levels in blood, which is created by the prostate. PSA levels in blood may be higher among men having developed prostate cancer.
- DRE (Digital Rectal Exam): The nurse or doctor inserts the hand wearing lubricated gloves inside the rectum for estimating the prostate size and to feel the lumps or any abnormality present.
If prostate cancer is diagnosed, then PSA level goes above 4. However still, having level below 4 not necessarily means, not having cancer. On conducting biopsy, 15% of men are found to have prostate cancer, those with PSA less than 4! There are chances of developing prostate cancer among men with PSA levels of 4 to 10. If over 140, then the risk of developing this cancer increases by 50%.
If PSA level is found high, then the doctors may suggest getting prostate biopsy to diagnose if cancer is there or not or to wait for a while. When considering going ahead with prostate biopsy to diagnose cancer, not all physicians might use similar PSA cut-off point. Few might encourage, if PSA level is found to be 4+ and others suggest starting at lower level like 2.5/3. This choice however, gets impacted significantly by family history, race and age.
Some elements impacting PSA levels
There are different aspects besides prostate cancer which might increase PSA levels like:
- Older age: Usually, PSA levels increase slowly with age, even if no prostate relates issues are found.
- Bigger prostate: Conditions like BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia), a non-cancerous prostate augmentation may impact many men with age and raise PSA levels.
- Ejaculation: For small amount of time, it can increase the PSA levels and go down again. Hence, most doctors recommend their male patients not to ejaculate for about a day before testing.
- Prostatitis: It describes prostate gland inflammation or infection, thereby increasing PSA levels.
- Some urologic treatments: Few treatments conducted at the doctor’s clinic might impact prostate like cystoscopy or prostate biopsy. This might lead to increased PSA levels for short time period. According to studies conducted, DRE (digital rectal exam) can increase PSA levels. If both DRE and PSA tests are being performed, then few physicians might recommend having blood taken out for PSA prior to DRE.
- Riding bicycle: Biking may rise levels of PSA as seat is places pressure in the prostate region.
- Certain medications: Testosterone, a male hormonal agent if taken might increase PSA.
Special PSA tests
PSA tests may be recommended by some doctors to diagnose if a prostate biopsy is needed or not. if the test outcome is not normal, then it becomes necessary to visit the Best Cancer Doctors In Gurgaon.
- Percent-free PSA (fPSA): PSA is found in two significant forms in blood. One distributes free, while the other is attached to the blood proteins. PSA is considered to be the ratio of the amount of PSA circulates fully free when compared to overall PSA levels. The complimentary PSA portion in men having prostate cancer is much lower than those not diagnosed with it.
- Complexed PSA: The test is used to measure PSA amount attached to proteins. It can be conducted rather than examining total free PSA and provide a similar quantity of information since the other exams are conducted independently.
- Tests integrating various types of PSA: The lately introduced tests like the 4Kscore test and the phi (prostate health index) integrate outcomes of different PSA types for obtaining a total score to reflect changes of the person has developed prostate cancer. Such tests are proven to be useful to those men having slightly increased PSA and determine if a prostate biopsy is necessary or not.
Consulting the specialists timely can help to determine, diagnose and get the best possible treatments for cancer.
