Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2010 May;20(3):185-8.
doi: 10.1097/MOU.0b013e3283384047.

Prostate-specific antigen screening: pro

Stacy Loeb  1 , William J Catalona
Affiliations
Review

Prostate-specific antigen screening: pro

Stacy Loeb et al. Curr Opin Urol. 2010 May.

Abstract

Purpose of review: Prostate cancer is the most common noncutaneous malignancy among men in the USA and is most frequently diagnosed through prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based screening. Nevertheless, PSA testing has become increasingly controversial. In this review, we will present the evidence supporting the role of PSA in prostate cancer screening.

Recent findings: Numerous studies have shown that the risk of current and future prostate cancer is directly related to the serum PSA level. Moreover, increasing PSA levels predict a greater risk of adverse pathologic features and worse disease-specific survival. Substantial epidemiologic evidence has suggested a reduction in advanced disease and improvements in prostate cancer survival rates since the introduction of PSA-based screening. Recently, evidence from a randomized trial further validated that PSA testing reduces both metastatic disease and prostate cancer-specific mortality.

Summary: PSA is a valid marker for prostate cancer and its aggressiveness. Level 1 evidence is now available that PSA-based screening reduces both the rate of metastatic disease and prostate cancer-specific mortality.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Stamey TA, Yang N, Hay AR, McNeal JE, Freiha FS, Redwine E. Prostate-specific antigen as a serum marker for adenocarcinoma of the prostate. N Engl J Med. 1987 Oct 8;317(15):909–916. - PubMed
    1. Nadler RB, Humphrey PA, Smith DS, Catalona WJ, Ratliff TL. Effect of inflammation and benign prostatic hyperplasia on elevated serum prostate specific antigen levels. J Urol. 1995 Aug;154(2 Pt 1):407–413. - PubMed
    1. Gann PH, Hennekens CH, Stampfer MJ. A prospective evaluation of plasma prostate-specific antigen for detection of prostatic cancer. Jama. 1995 Jan 25;273(4):289–294. - PubMed
    1. Loeb S, Roehl KA, Antenor JA, Catalona WJ, Suarez BK, Nadler RB. Baseline prostate-specific antigen compared with median prostate-specific antigen for age group as predictor of prostate cancer risk in men younger than 60 years old. Urology. 2006 Feb;67(2):316–320. - PubMed
    1. Lilja H, Ulmert D, Bjork T, et al. Long-term prediction of prostate cancer up to 25 years before diagnosis of prostate cancer using prostate kallikreins measured at age 44 to 50 years. J Clin Oncol. 2007 Feb 1;25(4):431–436. - PubMed

Publication types

Substances

LinkOut - more resources