Question: My PSA test levels over the last three years have been 2.5ng/mL or under. I just turned 46 and have been informed that there is nothing to worry about at these levels. Is that right? Is a reading under 4 still thought to be good enough?
First off, you are smart to be doing PSA testing if for nothing else but to get a bit of a base line established. Sadly some men just don’t get around to doing this at all.
Typically it’s advisable to start PSA testing around age 40 – with annual screenings from then on. Beginning earlier you probably don’t have any issues with BPH that can affect the results. In other words BPH adds background noise that makes them harder to interpret.
Frankly given the state of prostate treatment today, some say it’s insane not to go in for annual screenings and exams. Still too many put it off or ignore the possibility of problems developing. Counting on symptoms to alert them the time is right to act. When an abnormal PSA test could signal the alarm much sooner and better.
And you are right. When it comes to prostate-specific antigen (PSA) results it’s generally felt that lower is better.
And yes yet again you understand correctly that a PSA level of 4 or lower is a decent score. As long as you have regular rectal exams and they too are normal.
When it comes to the PSA test results you should also take into consideration your race and overall level of health. Plus your weight. Those all are additional risk factors that can’t be ignored.
While not a perfect metric, as some are quick to point out, the numbers generated provide a way to quantify potential cancer risk.
But don’t be too hard on those naysayers. They have a point. There are factors that can throw off or affect your PSA results. Making them rise to elevated levels that could but don’t signal something more sinister. Prostate inflammation or infection being two of them. Plus like anything else, such testing can produce its share of false positives.
Even though only a biopsy can identify the presence of prostate cancer, the rectal exams and PSA blood tests – warts and all, saves lives.
Reason being if prostate cancer is caught early enough, such as before it has spread beyond the prostate gland itself, the five year survival rate is 100% according to American Cancer Society stats. Which seems to me is a good enough reason get to your PSA scores regularly.