Elevated PSA

Hi, my very good friend is 47 years old and he is having problems with prostate. He complained to me that he get up several times during the night to go to the toilette, feel strong pressure in his lower stomach while he urinates and sometimes it is very difficult to start urinating. When he visited his doctor he ordered him to make blood analysis and see level of PSA. PSA was elevated so I would like to know something more about it.

Hi, PSA is prostate specific antigen and very important parameter which may show us if there are some disorders with prostate. It is test which is specific for prostate cancer and may show us potential risk for someone who has elevated level of PSA. Normal value of PSA is from 0 to 0.4 micrograms per liter. The value of PSA rises also in adenocarcinome of prostate but if level is over 65 there is great possibility for prostate cancer.

While the conventional wisdom says that a normal PSA value should be below 4.0, it isn't always true. PSA can rise steadily and slowly due to an enlarging prostate, which is very common as men age. So, the "normal" value for older men can be higher than 4.0. On the other hand, if the PSA rises suddenly, say 50-100% in a year, that is cause for concern no matter what the PSA value. In that case you should probably get a biopsy. A good friend of mine had a PSA of 2.0 but it had risen from 0.2 in a year. He had a biopsy and it was cancer and a very aggressive one at that. I myself had my PSA rise from 2.4 to 5.5 in one year and a biopsy discovered cancer, but a very early stage one. Hope this helps.