PSA

In a study recently published by the New England Journal of Medicine, it was found that men who experience a rapid increase in their PSA levels during the year prior to a prostate cancer diagnosis are at a significantly higher risk of death, even after undergoing a radical prostatectomy.
Results suggest that men should be tested early and annually. A sharp rise in PSA velocity during the year prior to a prostate cancer diagnosis can actually give Doctors insight to the potential deadliness and aggressiveness of the cancer. Since most prostate cancer deaths begin to occur in men in their 40’s, Physicians suggest tracking PSA levels by age 40. Prostate cancer is the second leading cancer related death for men. Prostate cancers kill nearly 30,000 men per year.
Some doctors recommend having a biopsy performed once a PSA level of 2.5 has been established. One reason for this is that a previous study showed that of men with PSA levels between 2.5 and 4.0, more than 20% had cancer.
Deaths from prostate cancer have lowered by about 20% among Caucasians and about 16% among African Americans since the mid-1990s when the use of the PSA tests became wide-spread. While improved treatment methods have helped these numbers to decline, it is very clear that early detection and treatment are vital to long-term health.

Source : http://www.labbocaraton.com/blood-test/psa-test