Added: 01/24/2006 |
Prostate Specific Antigen Tests, A Simple Way To Find An Enlarged ProstateThe prostate is a gland that surrounds the urethra and produces secretions that make up semen. After age fifty, many men experience prostate enlargement, which can be due to a variety of causes. Symptoms of an enlarged prostate may include pain upon urinating, blood in the urine, frequent urination or an inability to urinate if the prostate gets large enough to occlude the urethra. Some men, however, experience no symptoms at all.
Doctors routinely check for enlarged prostates with a digital rectal exam. This allows doctors to feel any inflammation in the prostate and potential tumors. Another popular test for an enlarged prostate is a prostate specific antigen test. The prostate specific antigen test is a simple blood test to measure the levels of prostate specific antigen in the blood stream. All men normally have low levels of prostate specific antigen in their blood; however, prostate cancer or other prostate enlarging disorders can increase the levels of prostate specific antigen. Therefore, doctors can use prostate specific antigen tests as a benchmark to determine whether or not further investigation needs to be done.
The three most likely causes of an enlarged prostate and increased level of prostate specific antigen are prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate), benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer. Prostatitis can be bacterial or non-bacterial and is usually diagnosed via a combination of tests. If the prostate feels enlarged and/or tender upon digital rectal exam but the prostate specific antigen test reveals normal or only slightly elevated levels of prostate specific antigen, then prostatitis may be suspected. Usually the patient's semen is tested for red and white blood cells, which, if present, represent an infection. If this is found, the prostatitis can be treated with antibiotics.
If there is no sign of infection and cancer can be ruled out, the likely diagnosis is benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). This is essentially an enlargement of the prostate gland that no definite cause can be found for. Treatment for BPH can be as simple as watchful waiting or as aggressive as surgical removal of the prostate, depending upon a patient's symptoms. For those with mild symptoms, monitoring the condition through watchful waiting may be enough. For those with moderate symptoms, the treatment for BPH can include medications to reduce the enlargement or lifestyle and diet changes. Surgery is usually reserved for those with moderate to severe symptoms.
If a patients prostate specific antigen levels are very high, the usual diagnosis is prostate cancer. High levels of prostate specific antigen are not an immediate confirmation of cancer, but they do general lead urologists to suggest a biopsy of the prostate. A biopsy shows if the cells of the prostate are cancerous. If cancer is detected, there are a wide variety of options that may be pursued, some similar to the treatment for BPH and some aimed specifically at killing the cancer cells.
Regardless of whether or not a man is experiencing symptoms of an enlarged prostate, most doctors recommend regular prostate specific antigen testing over the age of fifty. There is some controversy as to whether or not this really leads to early detection of cancer, but the current thought is that it is better to over-test than to under-test.
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