Assessment Tool/Diagnostic Test
Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a protein produced by normal, as well as malignant, cells of
the prostate gland (National Cancer Institute, n.d.). There is no specific normal or abnormal level
of PSA in the blood, and levels may vary over time in the same man (NCI, n.d.). Doctors
considered PSA levels of 4.0 ng/mL and lower as normal. Which means if a man had a PSA level
above 4.0 ng/mL, doctors usually would recommend a prostate biopsy. This will determine
whether prostate cancer was present. Elevated PSA levels may not only indicate prostate cancer,
but also a noncancerous condition such as prostatitis, or an enlarged prostate. It wasn't until 1986
that the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved PSA testing to monitor men for
prostate cancer. In 1994, the FDA approved the testing of the PSA and a digital rectal exam to
detect prostate cancer in men. For men over the age of fifty, it is recommended that a PSA test is
performed on a yearly basis. Some organizations, however, begin testing high-risk patients in
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- Summer '15
- Prostate cancer , Wk 3 Discussion - Utility of a Test
