Test Quick Guide

Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is a type of poly peptide produced by cells in the prostate. The prostate is a small reproductive gland that helps make semen, the fluid that transports sperm from the testicles through the penis during ejaculation. Healthy prostates create low levels of PSA. An elevated level of PSA may bespeak a problem with the prostate.

The PSA exam uses a claret sample to measure a person's PSA level. In some patients, the PSA examination may be used for prostate cancer screening. The PSA exam is also used to assistance with the diagnostic process for prostate cancer and noncancerous prostate conditions, as well every bit to monitor people who take been diagnosed with these conditions.

About the Test

Purpose of the exam

A PSA examination tin can determine if yous take loftier levels of PSA in your claret. Commonly, PSA is produced and released within the prostate gland, where information technology helps make semen and plays an of import role in fertility. Only small amounts of PSA move out of the prostate and into the blood in healthy people, just several prostate weather condition can cause higher levels of PSA in the blood.

A doctor may society a PSA examination for several reasons:

Cancer screening: Cancer screening checks for cancer in people who don't have symptoms. People with prostate cancer often accept elevated levels of PSA in their blood, but elevated levels are too institute in people without prostate cancer. The decision virtually whether or not to use a PSA exam to screen for prostate cancer is highly individualized based on a patient's adventure factors and wellness history. Patients should work with their doc to understand the risks and benefits of PSA screening for their specific situation.

Diagnosis: If yous accept symptoms of a prostate condition, or if your prostate gland is not normal during a concrete exam, your doctor may recommend a PSA test. An elevated level of PSA may indicate an issue in the prostate such every bit prostate cancer, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), or inflammation of the prostate. This then may lead to more follow-up testing to determine the diagnosis.

Monitoring and follow-upward: If you've been diagnosed with prostate cancer or BPH, your dr. may order PSA tests to monitor the furnishings of handling. For those who have completed treatment for prostate cancer, the PSA test can exist used to check for signs that the cancer has come back.

What does the exam measure?

The PSA test measures levels of prostate specific antigen in the blood. The results indicate the corporeality of PSA in a sure volume of blood. Results are usually expressed as nanograms of PSA per milliliter (ng/mL) of blood.

Finding a PSA Examination

How to get tested

Samples used for PSA testing are collected by trained health care professionals at hospitals, labs, and other medical settings. Earlier getting tested, information technology'southward best to talk to your md nearly the risks and benefits of PSA testing. You lot may be able to schedule your own PSA test at a dispensary or laboratory without a doctor's gild. However, you will demand a doctor to interpret the results of your test and recommend next steps.

Can I take the test at home?

Although testing for PSA at home is uncommon, several at-home PSA tests are available. At-home PSA tests typically involve collecting samples of claret at home through a fingerstick and sending the samples into a laboratory for testing. When considering calm PSA testing, it's important to understand the potential harms of this exam.

At-habitation testing may be less accurate than testing a sample taken from a vein. PSA testing can also evidence a higher result when cancer isn't present and tin can atomic number 82 to additional diagnostic procedures. Because the office of PSA testing is highly individualized, information technology's important to seek testing only nether the care and guidance of a medico.

How much does the test cost?

The cost of a PSA test volition vary based on where the exam is conducted and whether you take health insurance. If yous have wellness intendance coverage, you tin reach out to your insurance provider direct to observe out what a PSA test will cost under your plan. Depending on your plan, you lot may be responsible for out-of-pocket costs, such as copays and deductibles.

The cost of at-domicile PSA testing ranges from well-nigh $30 to $70.

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Taking the PSA Test

During a blood draw, a healthcare professional will use a pocket-size needle to take a sample of blood from a vein in your arm before sending the sample to a laboratory for assay.

A rapid PSA test has besides been approved for use past the FDA. Rapid PSA tests allow doctors to measure PSA in their office using a finger prick to obtain a few drops of blood without sending samples to a laboratory.

Before the exam

There are several precautions patients should consider before a PSA test. Because certain drugs tin cause PSA levels to increase, it's of import to talk to your md almost any medications you're taking. Y'all should also tell your doctor near any recent procedures or situations that affect your urinary system, including injuries, surgeries, and infections.

Patients may exist advised to avoid having sex or masturbating for 24 hours before your blood draw. Your PSA level can rising afterwards releasing semen, so a twenty-four hour period of forbearance can ensure y'all get the most accurate results.

During the test

Having your blood drawn often begins with a healthcare provider locating an advisable vein, usually in your arm, and tying an elastic band above the site to increment blood menstruum. The area is cleaned to remove germs on the skin before a needle is inserted into the vein. Claret is then drawn out of the arm into a sample tube used for drove. Blood draws typically take less than five minutes.

Providing a blood sample for a PSA test should be a quick and relatively painless process. Yous may feel a brief sting from the needle prick, and you might experience small-scale bruising around the spot the needle is inserted. Whatever discomfort should go away quickly.

A finger prick exam is conducted by pricking your fingertip with a device that contains a small needle in guild to obtain a few drops of claret.

Subsequently the test

Afterwards your blood is fatigued, the rubberband ring is removed and the site of the claret depict is bandaged. In that location are no special precautions or restrictions recommended later receiving a PSA claret test. Later on you are tested, you are able to drive and get about your daily activities as usual.

PSA Examination Results

Receiving test results

Afterwards your claret sample is taken, it is sent to a laboratory for assay, so it may take several days to receive your results. Rapid PSA testing provides results in less than 15 minutes while you await in the doctor'south office.

Interpreting test results

PSA test results should be interpreted with circumspection and under the guidance of a dr.. In understanding your examination results, your doctor will consider a variety of factors, including your historic period, ethnicity, and medications you are taking. Additionally, doctors rarely make clinical decisions based on a single elevated PSA test effect. Rather, doctors may await for trends in a patient's PSA level over time and look at other diagnostic results as well.

Cancer screening: If y'all receive a high PSA result from a screening, your doctor may recommend follow up tests to assist diagnose the cause. Additional tests may include a urine test to check for a urinary tract infection and/or a physical examination of the prostate, called a digital rectal exam. Repeat PSA testing may be recommended to look for trends.

Diagnosis: A high PSA result may as well prompt a doctor to recommend a biopsy if they suspect cancer. Even so, most people who are referred for a biopsy based on a high PSA level do not have cancer. Elevated PSA levels are more oft a sign of non-cancerous atmospheric condition such as a urinary tract infection, prostatitis, or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). These conditions are unrelated to prostate cancer.

Monitoring and follow-up: If you lot receive an elevated PSA examination upshot during or after prostate cancer treatment, it is important to talk to your medico nigh what test results mean for y'all. If you are currently undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, consistently elevated levels of PSA may indicate a need to reevaluate the treatment. If you take a rising PSA level later on completing cancer handling, your doctor will consider the type of treatment you received when interpreting PSA test results. In some patients, a ascent PSA after completing treatment for prostate cancer indicates that the cancer has returned.

Related Content

Sources

A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test. Updated Jan 15, 2020. Accessed June vii, 2021. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003346.htm

American Cancer Society. Insurance coverage for prostate cancer screening. Updated August 1, 2019. Accessed June iii, 2021. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/prostate-cancer/detection-diagnosis-staging/insurance-coverage.html

ARUP Consult. Prostate cancer- PSA. Updated Apr 2021. Accessed June vii, 2021. https://arupconsult.com/content/prostate-cancer

Brosman SA. Prostate-specific antigen testing. Kim ED, ed. Medscape. Updated January 14, 2020. Accessed June vii, 2021. https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/457394-overview

Centers for Affliction Control and Prevention. What is screening for prostate cancer? Updated Baronial eighteen, 2020. Accessed June 3, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/prostate/basic_info/screening.htm

Choosing Wisely. PSA blood examination for prostate cancer. Updated April, 2014. Accessed June 3, 2021. https://www.choosingwisely.org/patient-resources/psa-test-for-prostate-cancer/

MedlinePlus: National Library of Medicine. What you lot need to know about claret testing. Updated March 9, 2021. https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/what-you-need-to-know-well-nigh-claret-testing/

MedlinePlus: National Library of Medicine. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. Updated November 30, 2021.

https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/prostate-specific-antigen-psa-test/

National Cancer Institute. Understanding prostate changes. Date unknown. Accessed June 3, 2021.

https://www.cancer.gov/types/prostate/understanding-prostate-changes

National Cancer Establish. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. Updated Feb 24, 2021. Accessed June 3, 2021. https://www.cancer.gov/types/prostate/psa-fact-sheet

US Food and Drug Administration. Sangia total PSA test. Updated January 31, 2019. Accessed June three, 2021.

https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/recently-approved-devices/sangia-total-psa-exam-p170037

US Nutrient and Drug Assistants. Are there "FDA Registered" or "FDA Certified" medical devices? How do I know what is FDA approved? Updated March 3, 2021. Accessed June 3, 2021.

https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/consumers-medical-devices/are-there-fda-registered-or-fda-certified-medical-devices-how-do-i-know-what-fda-approved

US Food and Drug Assistants. Prostate cancer: Symptoms, tests, and treatments. Updated April 6, 2021. Accessed June iii, 2021. https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/prostate-cancer-symptoms-tests-and-treatments

United states Preventive Services Job Forcefulness. Prostate cancer: Screening. Updated May 8, 2018. Accessed June 3, 2021. https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recommendation/prostate-cancer-screening

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