PSA Test Is Best At Predicting Lethal Prostate Cancer

Getting a blood test done during mid-life can help predict the risk of deadly forms of prostate cancer in men. These are the findings of a new study conducted by a team of researchers at the Harvard University.

According to the new study, prostate specific antigen (PSA) test can accurately help predict the risk of developing a lethal form of prostate cancer when the man is still middle-aged. The researchers based their conclusion on a review of medical data.

The researchers claim that the PSA test can help predict the risk of the disease in life more than three-quarters of the time. Even though PSA tests have been earlier associated with way too many false positive results and its inability to detect tumors, it still remains the primary way of detecting or predicting prostate cancer since 1990s.

During the study, the research team specifically looked at the data for men in their 40s to find whether the blood test indicates high risk of developing the disease. The researchers concluded that men with high PSA levels should should undergo increased screening because of the associated higher risk of the disease.

Dr. Lorelei Mucci of the Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health said that the study findings do not imply that prostate biopsy and other definitive treatment must be carried out on young men with higher PSA levels at baseline. This could, in fact, lead to overdiagnosis.

However, these men should undergo increase PSA screening to identify the risk of cancer early in life and to enable potential cure, which is quite possible in that stage.

Despite the fact that better screening methods are available, the researchers claim that their study results suggest an increased screening for patients with indications of higher risk of developing prostate cancer later in life.

The complete details of the study have been published in the journal Clinical Oncology.