Warning: include() [function.include]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in /home/thmg1/public_html/sidebar1.php on line 6
Warning: include(http://www.find-an-article.com/websitetranslator/flags.php?site_url=www.find-an-article.com&page=/aid91275/PSA-Tests-Offer-An-Excellent-Indication-Of-The-Presence-of-An-Aggressive-Prostate-Cancer.html) [function.include]: failed to open stream: no suitable wrapper could be found in /home/thmg1/public_html/sidebar1.php on line 6
Warning: include() [function.include]: Failed opening 'http://www.find-an-article.com/websitetranslator/flags.php?site_url=www.find-an-article.com&page=/aid91275/PSA-Tests-Offer-An-Excellent-Indication-Of-The-Presence-of-An-Aggressive-Prostate-Cancer.html' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/lib/php:/usr/local/lib/php') in /home/thmg1/public_html/sidebar1.php on line 6
Home
Privacy Policy
About Us
Contact Us
Terms of Service
All Articles
Sitemap XML
|
|
|
|
PSA Tests Offer An Excellent Indication Of The Presence of An Aggressive Prostate Cancer |
|
|
|
|
Loading...
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
PSA Tests Offer An Excellent Indication Of The Presence of An Aggressive Prostate Cancer
|
By:
Donald Saunders |
|
The Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test is a blood test that is Often used as a screening test to detect the presence of benign enlargement of the prostate and of prostate cancer. Desite the fact that the test cannot in itself be used for diagnosis it is a good indicator and, in combination with other screening tests, PSA scores can suggest the need for further investigation.
PSA testing is usually recommended for men in high risk groups (like those with a family history of prostate cancer) from the age of around 40 to 45 and for all men once they reach 50 years of age.
A single test will provide a snapshot of prostate specific antigen levels in the blood and might reveal a problem straight away if you record especially high psa numbers. In the majority of cases however, and where a prostate problem is in its early development, a single test result will turn out to be inconclusive and a further test will usually be recommended in a few weeks time. In fact, ideally testing should be done at regular intervals 2 or 3 times every year so that PSA levels may be plotted over a reasonable period of time.
If you have a normal PSA score all is well, but when your PSA scores start to increase they have to be watched closely. The speed at which PSA scores rise is often referred to as the 'PSA velocity' and providing the increase is gradual and the velocity slow then it is once again often enough simply to monitor the situation as many things can influence levels of PSA and seemingly increasing levels will often be seen to return to normal over time.
However, if PSA readings start to rise rapidly and the velocity is said to be fast then further investigation is required.
This pattern of PSA testing and monitoring has been followed for some time but, though the test has always been considered to be a good indicator of the need for further investigation, it was not until quite recently that we have been in a position to link specific PSA velocity to prostate cancer in a way that can foretell how aggressive a cancer is.
In a study carried out recently data about 950 men with prostate cancer who had undergone either radiation treatment or surgery between 1988 and 2004 at four hospitals was carefully scutinized.
In every case each patient had been diagnosed as suffering from aggressive prostate cancer on the basis of a single very high PSA score, a biopsy showing an aggressive cancer at cellular level, a noticeable rise in PSA velocity during the year prior to diagnosis, the presence of an advanced stage tumor or a mixture of two or more of these markers.
The study also looked in detail at the post-treatment outcomes for all 950 men and found that a rapidly increasing PSA level that jumped by 2 or more points in a year was the clearest indication or the presence of an aggressive cancer.
Until this point we have been able to connect increasing PSA scores with an indication of the possible presence of prostate cancer but it has been necessary to guess to some extent about whether such a cancer is likely to be aggressive and need equally aggressive treatment.
Now however we can say with relative certainty that when a PSA level increases by 2 or more points in a twelve month period then prostate cancer is almost certain to be aggressive and needs to be treated quickly and vigorously.
ProstateProblemCenter.com provides information on PSA level ranges and on PSA scores
Article Source: www.find-an-article.com/index.php?page=author&author_name=Donald Saunders
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
View Related Articles » Disease-&-Illness » Prostate-Cancer
|
|
|
Warning: include() [function.include]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in /home/thmg1/public_html/article.php on line 230
Warning: include(http://www.find-an-article.com/rsstax.php) [function.include]: failed to open stream: no suitable wrapper could be found in /home/thmg1/public_html/article.php on line 230
Warning: include() [function.include]: Failed opening 'http://www.find-an-article.com/rsstax.php' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/lib/php:/usr/local/lib/php') in /home/thmg1/public_html/article.php on line 230
|
