The American Urologic Association still strongly recommends prostate cancer screening for all average-risk men ages 55-69, and higher-risk men should begin screening at age 45. Screening after age 70 is not recommended. Preventive Services Task Force, now recommend that men aged 55 to 69 decide for themselves whether to undergo a PSA test, after talking with their doctor. Several organizations, including the U.S.

Prostatitis, urinary tract infections, certain medications, and other factors can also cause your PSA levels to fluctuate. However, recent research has shown that some men with lower levels of PSA have prostate cancer and many men with higher levels of PSA don’t have cancer. In the past, doctors considered a PSA level of 4.0 nanograms per milliliter or lower to be normal, reports the National Cancer Institute. There’s also no specific level of PSA that’s considered normal for all men. It’s doubtful those small cancers would ever cause major symptoms and complications because prostate cancer, in most but not all cases, is a very slow-growing cancer. More men may face complications and risks of side effects from the treatment of a small growth than they would if their cancer was left undiagnosed. Just the same, most primary care physicians and urologists do choose to order the PSA as a screening test in men over the age of 50. It’s also not clear if the screening test actually saves lives.īecause the test is very sensitive and can detect increased PSA numbers at low concentrations, it may detect cancer that’s so small it would never become life threatening. PSA tests are controversial because doctors and experts aren’t sure if the benefits of early detection outweigh the risks of misdiagnosis. Many medical professionals use additional blood testing, like PHI or 4K tests, or prostate MRI to better qualify the PSA importance before moving to biopsy. However elevated PSA does not mean a patient will go directly to biopsy. Your doctor may then suspect you have prostate cancer and recommend a prostate biopsy when you don’t actually have cancer. a hematoma, or blood collected under the skin, at the puncture siteĪ PSA test can also produce false-positive results, which creates some controversy around it.However, there are some other risks to be aware of. The healthcare professional who draws your blood may have to try several veins in multiple locations on your body before they find one that allows them to get enough blood.Ĭomplications from a routine blood draw are uncommon. However, because veins and arteries vary in size and depth, getting a blood sample isn’t always simple.

Validity and reliability of psa test