Causes of a High PSA

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Causes of a High PSA

A “normal” PSA level is generally between 1.0 and 4.0 ng/mL. Anything above 4.0ng/mL is considered “abnormal” or elevated. The PSA level may differ depending on a man’s age. As men age, the prostate gets larger. A larger prostate produces more PSA. Therefore, younger men generally have lower PSA levels while older men tend to have higher PSA levels. These variations in PSA levels are not always associated with a prostate condition, other than an enlarged prostate. The PSA level may also vary depending on the man’s ethnicity or if they have a family history of prostate cancer.

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Treatment for Elevated PSA

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Treatment for Elevated PSA

A man may have an elevated PSA for a number of reasons. An elevated PSA is a result of the prostate cells or gland being disrupted in some way. The treatment for having an elevated PSA will depend on what is causing the PSA to rise. Let’s take a look as the most common causes of an elevated PSA: Prostatitis. Prostatitis also means a prostate infection, which causes inflammation of the prostate gland. Prostatitis is the most common prostate condition in men younger than 50. It can usually be treated with antibiotics.

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Treatment for BPH

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Treatment for BPH

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a condition that occurs in men usually over 50 years old and is characterized by an enlarged prostate. As men age, it is natural for the prostate to become enlarge. BPH is a noncancerous growth of the cells within the prostate gland. By age 60, more than half of men have BPH. By age 85, about 90 percent of men have BPH, but only about 30 percent will have symptoms.

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What is Percent-Free PSA?

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What is Percent-Free PSA?

Prostate cancer effects millions of men each year, whether newly diagnosed or living with prostate cancer. Despite the amount of lives this cancer affects, the tools for diagnosis fall short.  For this reason it is important to use the tools that we do have to their fullest capacity.  The percent free PSA, for instance.

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Prostate cancer: Cyberknife vs. Robotic surgery

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Prostate cancer: Cyberknife vs. Robotic surgery

What is Cyberknife? Cyberknife is a form of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) and robotic-assisted radiosurgery (not actual surgery) that utilizes a computerized robot to automatically deliver high doses of radiation to the prostate gland. Fiducials are implanted into the body so that the Cyberknife machine can adjust to movement during each treatment. 

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Prostate Cancer Basics

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Prostate Cancer Basics

According to the National Cancer Institute, prostate cancer is the second most common form of cancer affecting men in the United States.  This translates to about 1 in every 7 men in America.  That means you or someone you know has probably dealt with prostate cancer.  There are more than 2.9 million men living with prostate cancer in America, and more than 60 percent of men diagnosed with prostate cancer each year are over the age of 65.

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Staging of prostate cancer

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Staging of prostate cancer

The staging of prostate cancer is one of the most important factors when determining the best treatment option for a man with prostate cancer. The stage of prostate cancer is determined based the results of the prostate biopsy, the Gleason score, the PSA level, and any other special tests that may have been done to find out information about the cancer, such as the PHI test, the PCA3 test, or the 4K Score test.

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Treatment options for prostate cancer

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Treatment options for prostate cancer

Radical robotic prostatectomy (aka Da Vinci Robotic Prostatectomy/Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy): Minimally-invasive surgical procedure to remove the prostate gland. This surgery is performed by a trained and skilled surgeon who uses a computer-enhanced robotic surgical system that is located next the operating table. The surgical system is composed of three main parts: a vision system with high magnification and resolution, robotic arms and instruments, and a console that the surgeon uses to view the operative field and control the instruments.

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Grading Prostate Cancer

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Grading Prostate Cancer

The grading system for prostate cancer is used to help assess the prognosis of prostate cancer. It also provides the doctor with the necessary information needed to select the most optimal treatment plan for the patient. Similar to staging prostate cancer, grade are given to each prostate cancer case to determine the severity of the disease. A urologist will assign a grade to the prostate cancer after the patient has undergone a prostate biopsy. The tissue samples are sent to a laboratory to be analyzed by a pathologist.

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An Elevated PSA is Not a Diagnosis for Cancer

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An Elevated PSA is Not a Diagnosis for Cancer

The PSA blood test is often the first step in screening for prostate cancer.   It is included in a two-part screening process that also includes the digital rectal exam (DRE). Since the PSA is not prostate-cancer specific, abnormal results are further, or an elevated PSA is not a diagnosis for cancer.  Things like evaluating a patient, knowing their medical and family history, following a PSA trend, as well as the velocity at which PSA changes can help a physician make an informed decision about what an elevated PSA might mean.   Because PSA tests are not necessarily straightforward, simple or easy diagnostic tools, knowing the risk factors and tracking the changes in PSA can help you and your physician interpret a PSA properly.   

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Robotic prostate surgery better for erectile function

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Robotic prostate surgery better for erectile function

A new study from Australia suggests that robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy is more effective at preserving erectile function and urinary continence than a laparoscopic radical prostatectomy for treating localized prostate cancer. The study was recently published as a meta-analysis in Urologia Internationalis. The study was conducted by researchers at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. It involved two randomized controlled trials and included a total of 232 patients in which each of their surgical approaches were compared. 

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Finding and Diagnosing Prostate Cancer

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Finding and Diagnosing Prostate Cancer

PSA (prostate-specific antigen) blood test. A normal PSA is less than 4.0 ng/mL. If the PSA level is greater, it is more likely that prostate cancer is present. However, there are other conditions that can raise the PSA. Men with a PSA level between 4.0 and 10.0 ng/mL have about a 25 percent chance of having prostate cancer. If the PSA level is greater than 10.0ng/mL, the chance of having prostate cancer is over 50 percent. If you have a high PSA, a doctor will look at other factors such as age, race, and family history, and also rule out any other possible conditions causing the elevated PSA. If other conditions have been ruled out, the doctor will recommend a prostate biopsy.

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