The Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test is a blood test which is frequently used to screen for the presence of benign enlargement of the prostate gland and of prostate cancer. While the test cannot in itself be used for diagnosis it is a good indicator and, along with other tests, PSA test can point to the need for further investigation.
The PSA test is generally recommended for men at particular risk (like those with a family history of prostate cancer) from the age of about 40 to 45 and for men in general once they reach 50 years of age.
A single PSA test will give a snapshot of of the level of prostate specific antigen in the blood and can indicate a problem immediately if you have particularly high psa numbers. In most cases however, and when a prostate problem may be in its early development, a single PSA test result will prove to be inconclusive and another test will normally be suggested in a few weeks time. In fact, if possible PSA testing ought to be done regularly 2 or 3 times a year so that PSA levels may be seen over a reasonable period of time.
Provided that you record a normal PSA score all is fine, but as soon as your PSA levels start to rise they need to be watched closely. The speed with which PSA levels increase is normally referred to as the 'PSA velocity' and if the rise is steady and the velocity slow then it is again often enough simply to monitor the situation as a variety of things can influence PSA levels and seemingly increasing levels will often be seen to return to normal over time.
However, where PSA test readings start to increase rapidly and the velocity is said to be fast then further investigation is needed.
PSA testing and monitoring has been done for some time but, though the test has long been considered to be a good indicator of the need for further investigation, it was not until fairly recently that we have been in a position to link specific PSA velocity readings to prostate cancer in a fashion which can foretell how aggressive a cancer is.
In a study carried out recently data concerning 950 men who had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and undergone either surgery of radiation treatment at four hospitals between 1988 and 2004 was carefully analyzed.
In all cases the patients had been diagnosed as suffering from aggressive prostate cancer on the basis of an isolated very high PSA score, a noticeable increase in PSA velocity in the year before diagnosis, an advanced stage tumor, a biopsy showing signs of an aggressive cancer at cellular level or a mix of two or more of these markers.
This study also looked at the post-treatment outcomes for all 950 men and found that a rapidly increasing PSA level which rose by 2 or more points in a year was the best indicator or an aggressive cancer.
Until now we have been able to connect increasing PSA test scores with the possible presence of prostate cancer but have had to guess to a fair degree about whether such a cancer is likely to be aggressive and require correspondingly aggressive intervention.
However, now we are able to say with a fair degree of certainty that where a PSA level rises by more than 2 points in a twelve month period then prostate cancer is almost certainly aggressive and requires speedy and vigorous treatment.
ProstateProblemCenter.com provides information on PSA test results and on PSA scores | 
