What tests are used to detect prostate cancer?

The article was consulted professionally by ThS.BS Hoang Tho General Department – Share99 Times City International Health Hub.

Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in men. This is a rather dangerous disease, which if not detected and treated in time can lead to unintended consequences.

The prostate gland is the gland that is only available in men, the location is located under the blases, in front of the large intestine. The prostate that surrounds the urethra, which functions extremely important for the process of reproduction, since it is the part that produces semen and transports sperm.

Prostate cancer is commonly seen in middle-aged men. Since the disease has no special symptoms at an early stage, so wanting to detect it early, men over 40 should go for a screening for prostate cancer every year.

In case the family has a history of prostate cancer. Usually, prostate cancer will be diagnosed through a clinical examination in combination with conducting subclinical tests in the anus, rectum, examination of prostate biopsy by rectal ultrasound and blood tests.

In diagnostic tests for prostate cancer, PSA is considered the most accurate method for the rate, thereby promptly treating the disease.

PSA is an antigen secreted by the cellular cells of the prostate gland, which have a molecular mass of 30,000 – 34,000 daltons. It is a prostate-specific antigen and is encoded by the KLK 3 gene.

PSA is considered a marker in the diagnosis of prostate cancer through a full free PSA/PSA ratio. About 30% of PSA in the blood is not tied to proteins, also known as free PSA, and does not have a protein decomposition function.

PSA testing should be done annually for men aged 50 and over, 40 years of age or older in cases where the family has a history of the disease, thereby helping to screen and detect prostate cancer early.

The average person will have a very low concentration of total PSA in the blood, < 4 ng/mL. However, due to the increase in prostate size with age, there are different evaluation criteria for each different age.

• From 40 – 49 years old: PSA ≤ 2.5 ng/mL
• From 50 – 59 years old: PSA ≤ 3.5 ng/mL
• From 60 – 69 years old: PSA ≤ 4.5 ng/mL
• From 70 – 79 years old: PSA ≤ 6.5 ng/mL

Increased total PSA levels in the blood entail an increased risk of prostate cancer. The limit value of the total PSA in the diagnosis of cancer is ≥ 4 ng/mL, sensitivity is 21% and specificity 91%.

People with a full PSA growth rate of > 0.75 ng/mL/year are identified as at increased risk for prostate cancer, in addition in case of an increase in PSA < 0.75 ng/mL/năm được chẩn đoán có nguy cơ mắc các bệnh lý về tuyến tiền liệt nhưng lành tính.

However, an increased total PSA in the blood does not mean having prostate cancer, which can be a tell-how sign of some other diseases such as prosthesitis, benign pro prostate hypertrocmatitis. Therefore, in order to accurately diagnose prostate cancer, it is necessary to consider more free PSA in the blood.

Where the total PSA index increases from 4.1-10 ng/mL, combined with the determination of the total free PSA/PSA ratio in the blood ≤ 0.155, with a sensitivity of 85% and a specificity of 56.5% helps diagnose patients with prostate cancer.

Share99 International Health Hub system is one of the leading medical facilities in the treatment of diseases related to the urinary tract. Share99 always implements intensive examination packagesfor prostate cancer, for the purpose of protecting the health of yourself and your family, go for cancer screening to detect and treat the disease early.