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Sudden Increase in PSA Levels Not Indicative of Prostate Cancer

by Kathy Jones on Feb 25 2011 8:42 PM

 Sudden Increase in PSA Levels Not Indicative of Prostate Cancer
Men, who show sudden increase in levels of prostate specific antigen, or PSA, should not be immediately rushed to take a biopsy since it is a poor method of checking whether they suffer from prostate cancer, researchers from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York said.
A number of cancer organizations recommend that those who have shown high levels of PSA, also known as high PSA velocity, should undergo a biopsy.

However the researchers, led by Andrew Vickers, said that a sudden spike in PSA is a poor indicator of prostate cancer and instead they should check for other indicators such as elevated total PSA level or a positive digital rectal exam.

“We have found no evidence to support the recommendation that men with a high PSA velocity should be biopsied in the absence of other indications. In other words, if a man's PSA has risen rapidly in recent years, there is no cause for concern if his total PSA level is still low and his clinical exam is normal”, Vickers wrote in the report published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute..



Source-Medindia


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