Sooner or later, men over 50 will or should regularly receive annual Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) screening tests for prostate cancer. Depending on your ethnic and racial backgrounds or family history these tests may even begin earlier. In any case, these screening tests may include but are not limited to a PSA test, a rectal examination, a urinalysis with micro to assess the kidney and urine for urinary tract infection or Uroflowmetry (aka Uroflow test) for assessing related voiding dysfunction. It’s a humbling experience at least for a minute or so, but most of all PSA test receivers just want to know what the PSA results mean. This article addresses just that. It assembles a range of references from the health and medical literature on this topic and constructs a ready to use quick reference chart for that purpose. Test screening scores received from your Doctor’s office can be compared against the range of indices provided in this chart when you get home. The reading list at the end of this article also provides the corresponding hypertext link for the obtained indices. The hypertext links in and of themselves also make for a useful reading list to individuals who know nothing about this topic but need to satisfy their appetites for more information in this area. As such, it is hoped that future scheduled visits and discussions with your Doctor will be more fruitful than the previous ones. PSA Reference Range and Cancer Probability Chart for Blood Test
CHEMISTRY
LOWER LIMIT NORMAL REFERENCE RANGE
HIGHER LIMIT NORMAL REFERENCE RANGE
SUSPISCIOUS REFERENCE RANGE
HIGHLY SUSPISCIOUS REFERENCE RANGE
UNIT
PSA (Total)
< 2.6
2.6 to 4
4 to 10
>10
ng/mL
CANCER PROBABILITY RANGE
0% to 19% chance
20% chance
25% to 45% chance
>67% chance
NOTE:PSA Total values that fall below 4.0 nanograms per mililiter of blood (ng/ml) are generally considered “normal” although some physicians propose even stricter ng/ml values of 2.5 or less. This latter value may be particularly relevant to people that tend to be more predisposed to these conditions. While the debate in the literature continues about setting even more stringent lower limit values for the safe or normal zones, there is little or no argument about the seriousness of the negative meaning of ng/ml values of 10.0 and more. However, as one of the articles in the reading list below tells us, there is more to all of this than just interpreting the PSA scores. One has to also consider many other interrelated factors to make a conclusive determination. A Free PSA score, a Free/Total PSA value, PSA velocity, PSA density, age of the person, race, nutrition, and even sexual relations prior to blood test amongst them. Cautionary Note: This blog post and quick reference chart is provided for your information only and must not be construed as medical advice or instruction. No action or inaction should be taken based solely on the contents of the information contained in this blog post; rather, readers should consult appropriate health professionals on any matter relating to their health and well-being. Author Information: Ihor Cap, Ph.D. - Dr. Cap is an Education Research Specialist and Web Author. Photo:
See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
