Prostate-Specific Antigen Testing for enlarged Prostate (BPH) and Cancer

What is a Normal PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen)

 PSA or prostate specific antigen is being manufactured by the prostate gland. A little quantity of it is found in blood; however it is typically found in semen. The fixed value of it has long been the average of care in determining whether your PSA increase is quite large. Previously, the number 4 has been considered to be the limit so as your level is considered to be normal but this may not always be applicable to men.

Several aspects are in need of certain consideration when you interpret a PSA value. These factors include age adjustment, density, percent free PSA and velocity. The recent data modified how urologists take a look and interpret PSA levels with regards to what they defined as a normal PSA. Now, the acknowledged rate for an age-adjusted PSA considering men with the age below 50 is 2.4 ng per ml but for those within their 70's should be 6.5 ng per ml.

Here are also some other restrictions that have been definite for varying age. However, there is no general agreement regarding the precision of the age-adjusted values.

PSA density is determined to be PSA over the prostate volume. For instance distinguishing two patients with same prominent PSA but varying prostate volumes, the patient with the smaller prostate is probably the one to develop prostate cancer. That is, the elevated the density is the more possible it is that the patient develops prostate cancer. 

The PSA levels velocity is determined to be the rate that the PSA is changing over a certain time period. A patient who has less than 2 as a PSA, a velocity of more than 0.35 ng per ml in a year should be of concern. However, patients that has PSA between 4 and 10 have a reason to be worried when the PSA levels velocity is more than 0.75 ng per ml. For instance, considering a rise of PSA from 1 to 1.5 is a reason for you to be concerned but a rise of 5 to 5.5 is probably not harmful.

The percent free PSA (PSA-f) is defined to be the ratio of "free PSA" against "bound PSA" within the totality of PSA in the sample of the blood. The free PSA travels in the bloodstream that is not linked to any protein carrier. That is, if the percentage of free PSA is higher than the risk of cancer will be lower.

PSA is normally present in the blood at very low levels. The reference range of less than 4 ng/mL  For the first commercial PSA test,

PSA levels can be also increased by prostatitis, irritation, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), and recent ejaculation, producing a false positive result. Digital rectal examination (DRE) has been shown in several studies to produce an increase in PSA. However, the effect is clinically insignificant, since DRE causes the most substantial increases in patients with PSA levels already elevated over 4.0 ng/mL.

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