Prostate Cancer Test
Testing for prostate cancer is very important in order to detect the disease in its early stages. Any cancer can be more successfully treated if it is detected early and prostate cancer is no exception. Because prostate cancer rarely has symptoms or shows signs, regular check-ups by a doctor are important. There are two tests generally used to expose abnormalities that might be cancer. There is the physical exam and a blood test.
The physical exam is called a digital rectal exam; this is where the doctor feels the prostate through the rectum and searches for hard or lumpy areas. Although the exam may be momentarily uncomfortable, there will be no pain or damage to the prostate.
The blood test is called the prostate-specific antigen test (PSA); the doctor draws blood from the arm of the patient and sends the blood sample to a laboratory. The laboratory tests it to find if there is a high level of the PSA protein in the sample. A level of PSA higher than 4 ng/mL (four nanograms per milliliter) could indicate prostate cancer, or a non-cancerous infection known as prostatitis, or simply an enlarged prostate. However, even if the PSA level is less than 4, it is possible for the patient to actually have prostate cancer. According to medical studies, men who have a PSA of less then 4 have a 15% chance of having prostate cancer. Those with a PSA of between 4 and 10 have a 25% chance of having it, and if the PSA level is over 10, they have a 67% chance of having prostate cancer.
If either the digital rectal exam or the PSA test shows any abnormality, the doctor may require other tests such as a prostate ultrasound test. The prostate ultrasound test is where a small probe, about the size of a finger, is inserted a short distance into the rectum. Harmless sound waves of a very high-frequency bounce off the surface of the prostate and are recorded, and will be transferred to photographs or video for he doctor to examine. The images can provide the doctor with a picture’ of the prostate in order to determine if there are any unusual lumps or abnormal growths.
If the doctor finds what appears to be an abnormal growth, the next step is called a prostate biopsy. It is a variation in the technology of the ultrasound test. Transrectal ultrasound imaging is used to guide several very small needles into the areas of the prostate where the unusual growths were detected. The needles remove a tiny amount of tissue which will then be sent to a laboratory for tests to determine if the cells retrieved are cancerous. With the results of this test, the doctor can find out accurately if it is a cancer, or a benign tumor. If it is cancer, the tests will help the doctor identify the type of cancer and decide how aggressive it is.
It should be noted that some doctors do the biopsy through the skin between the scrotum and the rectum.
After the laboratory analysis of the biopsy, the doctor may require a CAT scan which uses x-rays and computer imaging to examine a cross section of the area. This is generally to see if the lymph nodes are swollen, which might mean that the cancer has spread past the prostate gland. A CAT scan is only used if the cancerous area is very large or the PSA level is very high. An MRI machine might be used in place of a CAT scan and uses a magnet and not x-rays to produce an image.
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