| Prostate Specific
Antigen (PSA) is a protein, which is synthesized
by the cells of the prostate gland. The
PSA is that part of semen that helps in
keeping the semen watery. The majority of
the PSA that is manufactured by the prostate
gland comes out of the body in semen, and
only small amount is discharged into the
bloodstream. However, the PSA level rises
in case of prostate cancer and other prostate
disorders.
Normal PSA levels in blood ranges between
0-4.0 ng per milliliter. Increased levels
of PSA may indicate the presence of prostate
cancer in the body. Though, prostate cancer
can also be present even when there is
no elevated PSA level present in the body.
A PSA test is recommended
to detect prostate cancer at an early
stage, which involves a blood test. If
a person shows higher than normal PSA
values, it indicates localized and metastatic
prostrate cancer (CaP). In certain other
cases, it may happen that a person has
prostrate cancer even when the PSA test
is normal. In such cases, the PSA values
may be false negative. Other than this,
PSA level can also be high due to prostate
disease, inflammation, benign prostatic
hypertrophy or hyperplasia (BPH) or recent
ejaculation. In these cases, the test
may give a false positive.
|
