Prostate Specific Antigen PSA levels and prostate Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer among men in the USA This cancer can occur in men because the prostate is part of the male reproductive system. Men over 50 are most at risk of developing cancer and prostate cancer is responsible for more deaths among men of any other cancer except lung cancer.
Explore prostate cancer most often happens during a physical examination. Another way cancer is detected through blood tests, such as PSA. PSA stands for prostate specific antigen. PSA is an enzyme produced exclusively by prostate cells. A small amount of PSA is continuously released into the bloodstream by the prostate cells. This allows the measurement of a PSA blood test.
For men aged 60 and younger, the normal level of PSA is up to 2.5 ng / ml. For men aged over 60 years, the range is 4.0 ng / ml due to prostate normally grows and makes more PSA with age. A cell cancer of the prostate can produce 10 times more PSA to a normal cell. Like many cancer cells, more PSA is released into the bloodstream, causing blood PSA to have an above-average ages of man.
Prostate Specific Antigen Average men with prostate cancer:
The average PSA was 7.2 ng / ml, but there is a wide variation. Men can be treated for cancer with a PSA as low as 0.3 ngl / ml and higher than 430 NGL / ml. Fifteen percent of men have a PSA less than "normal" of 4.0 ng / ml. Men can be classified into four groups PSA, based on their PSA.
- Group 1: up to 4.0 ng / ml
- Group 2: 4.1 ng / ml - 10.0 ng / ml
- Group 3: 10.1 NGL / ml - 20.0 ng / ml
- Group 4: Over 20.0 ng / ml
Example: I am an old year 64 with a PSA of 6.3 ng / ml:
In general, the amount of prostate PSA in the blood are an indicator of the amount of cancer in a man. More PSA usually means more cancer. A PSA of 6.3 ng / ml places this man in a PSA of 4.1 to 10.0 ng / ml. This level of prostate-specific antigen suggests that man has cancer a little less than the prostate cancer patients on average.
Connection between the PSA and the amount of cancer present:
Some prostate cancers do not produce much PSA. These bodies are called low-PSA producing cancers. Low PSA cancers can mislead physicians. Some of these more advanced cancers are low PSA. For this reason, a PSA blood test can not be used as the sole indicator of whether a man has cancer. PSA is a good indicator of the amount of cancer that is present, but the test is not perfect. Your doctor should be responsible for testing other and also determine your Gleason score better determine if cancer is present and if so, how serious it is.
The most important information in this article is to learn about prostate cancer. Once you have learned about cancer, you'll be better prepared to make a decision about treatment and your doctor. It is not difficult to learn about this type of cancer and the treatments performed by each type of physician. There are many ways to treat prostate cancer, so it's essential that you spend time to learn more about each one. With few exceptions there is a sudden to be healed, so take the time to make an informed decision.
Posted on February 25, 2010.