Johns Hopkins Health Alert
Can the PSA Test Predict Cancer?
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Posted in Prostate Disorders on February 26, 2009
Reviewed December 2011
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I am now 61 yrs old and have had a PSA of .6 - .7 (current)for years. All was thought to be okay until my PC was dicovered while undergoing a colonoscopy. Could be genetic or could be Agent Orange related. I suggest DRE along with the PSA for everyone regardless of PSA score.
Posted by: John A | February 28, 2009 6:51 AM
I second the above comment about getting a DRE in addition to PSA. I also suggest getting it from a urologist, because they have more experience than internists in knowing what to look for.
I am 64 years old and my PSA was always 1.0 or below. My internist suggested seeing a urologist for a checkup and he urologist found a small nodule. Because of my low PSA, he dismissed it. I insisted on a biopsy and it turned out to be an aggressive prostate cancer.
Posted by: stebro | February 28, 2009 2:05 PM
I'm 57 and have been getting regular DRE and PSA tests once or twice a year since I was 50. I started out at 50 with PSA of 3.5 and my last PSA reading was 6.98....All my DREs produce negative results. It's done by a urologist. I have never submitted to a biopsy. I also believe PSA scores can be tied to genetics and prostate inflammation. I'd be more concerned if the Stanford University researcher who developed the PSA didn't come out with a follow up study about three years ago saying that PSA as a marker for prostate cancer is ineffective. Yes. That's right. Ineffective. His name is Thomas Stamey, and you can find the report in the Journal of Urology October 2004. People with .01 PSA have come up with aggressive cancer, and people with PSA of 15 have not developed prostate cancer. So what does that say about it being an effective test. Anyway, that's his conclusion.
Posted by: Stuart Gordon | February 28, 2009 6:49 PM
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I had my first PSA test when I was in my 40s and have tracked my PSA readings since Jan 92 when I was 52. I have never had a PSA reading under 3.8. I have had 4 negative prostate biopsies. I suffer from an enlarged and chronically inflamed prostate. This condition seems to have genetic components. In my opinion PSA Test are of marginal value if you are suffering from chronic inflammation. DL
Posted by: dlemon | February 26, 2009 2:58 PM