PSA test

The possibilities of early detection

In addition to the clinical examination and ultrasound examination for early detection of prostate carcinoma is available for about 15 years, the PSA test. Fortunately, can be detected earlier than by the examination or ultrasound since the introduction of the PSA test, a prostate cancer an average of 5 years. This has meant that today much more common tumors at early stages can be detected and are therefore more frequently cured by appropriate measures.

The blood test detects the concentration of so-called prostate-specific antigen. This protein is only produced by prostate cells and is used to liquefy the semen.

The value can be increased several changes in the prostate.
These include in particular:

- Ejaculation
- Cycling
- Inflammation of the prostate
- Examination of the rectum
- Bubble reflections
- And, unfortunately, the prostate cancer

Before any investigation of PSA in the context of a screening test should therefore be excluded that the former “confounding factors” have affected the value. You should avoid before a PSA test, ideally at least 2-3 days to those “activities”.
If the value increases, despite the exclusion of these possibilities (for elderly patients over 4 ng / mL – in younger men already below 4 ng / ml) or increases in a year to more than 0.5 ng / ml over the previous year, urgently need to be made further investigations to exclude or evidence of prostate cancer. Learn more in the live interview, “prevention of prostate cancer” by Dr. Neubauer in the studio of the WDR.

Even after a prostate cancer therapy, the PSA test is best for the so-called follow-up. Also, tumor cells that have seed off as metastases outside the prostate produce PSA in the body, so that by the test can often significantly earlier recurrence of the disease are recognized, as other studies.