PSA test

A genetic pattern could predict how aggressive prostate cancer is before treatment, and whether the disease will come back in men who have already been treated, according to research published in the Lancet Oncology*.

A prostate antigen level test at age 60 appears to provide an indication of a man’s lifetime risk of being diagnosed and dying from prostate cancer.

Doctors should warn men that prostate cancer testing may lead to anxiety and distress, say Cancer Research UK experts.

CANCER RESEARCH UK scientists have shown that screening for prostate cancer using prostate specific antigen (PSA) would lead to a substantial number of tumours diagnosed at an earlier and more treatable stage. However, there would be likely cases of overdiagnosed prostate cancer according to a study published in the British Journal of Cancer today.

Male relatives of prostate cancer patients need more information in order to help them understand the possible familial risk of the disease, and to decide whether or not to have a PSA test, according to research published in the British Journal of Cancer today (21 February 2006).