• What is prostate cancer?
• PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) screening test
• DRE (Digital Rectal Examination) screening test
• Prostate Cancer Screening Recommendations
• Related Links and Videos
• Cancer Screening for other Cancers

What is prostate cancer?

Prostate cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers and a leading cause of cancer-related deaths among men. The risk of developing prostate cancer increases with age.

This type of cancer usually grows slowly and can often be removed entirely or effectively managed if detected and treated early.

Currently, there is no standard test available for screening prostate cancer. However, two tests commonly utilized for this purpose are outlined below.

PSA Screening Test

The PSA test is a blood test used to screen for prostate cancer. It measures the level of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a protein produced by the prostate gland, in the blood. There is ongoing debate about the benefits of using PSA testing for prostate cancer screening. One concern is that PSA testing can result in false-positive results and lead to overdiagnosis, causing potential harms associated with subsequent biopsies or treatments, such as bleeding, infection, urinary incontinence, and erectile dysfunction. There is no explicit cutoff for normal versus abnormal PSA results, as no specific level definitively indicates prostate cancer. However, higher PSA levels increase the likelihood of cancer being present.

Digital rectal examination (DRE)

Digital rectal examination (DRE) is when a health care provider inserts a gloved, lubricated finger into a man's rectum to feel the prostate for anything abnormal, such as cancer.