How is Prostate Cancer Diagnosed?
During a physical examination, your doctor will perform a digital-rectal examination (DRE), where the gloved finger is used to feel the prostate gland through the wall of the rectum. Your doctor may suspect prostate disease as a result of a DRE if the prostate gland feels irregular or hard to the examining finger. A blood test that measures a protein produced by the cells of the prostate gland, called prostate-specific antigen (PSA), also can be used to screen men for evidence of prostate cancer. An elevated PSA can be caused by cancer, but inflammation of the gland or age-related enlargement of the gland can cause increase PSA in the absence of cancer.
If an abnormal DRE, elevated PSA, or both are found, your doctor will usually advise additional testing. If your doctor suspects that inflammation of the prostate gland is causing an elevated PSA, he may recommend a course of antibiotics and a repeat PSA test. If the PSA returns to normal, the most likely cause of the increased PSA is inflammation. If the PSA does not return to normal or if the DRE is abnormal in spite of the PSA becoming normal, your doctor will probably order additional tests. The following are additional tests that may be preformed:
- Trans-rectal ultrasound uses a probe inserted into the rectum. The probe generates sound waves to produce a computerized image of the prostate gland.
- Cystoscopy direct visual examination of the urinary bladder and prostate by a thin-lighted tube passed through the penis.
- Biopsy obtaining a small piece of tissue from the prostate using a small needle that samples tissue from the prostate gland through the rectal wall. An anatomic pathologist- a specially trained physician- will examine your biopsy with a microscope to determine whether or not cancer or some other abnormality is present in your tissue sample.
What Causes Prostate Cancer?
No one knows for sure what causes prostate cancer. Advancing age seems to be a factor. Prostate cancer usually starts to appear in men after age 55, and the average age of diagnosis is 70. If a man’s father or brother has a history of prostate cancer, he is at increased risk to develop the disease. Prostate cancer is more common in African Americans, and less common in men of Asian or Native American ancestry. Some evidence suggests that a diet high in fat may be a contributing factor. Conversely, a diet rich in fruits and vegetables seems to have a protective effect.
South Florida Medical Research is currently conducting various clinical trials for men with prostate cancer. For more information please contact our offices at 305-931-8080 or email us at info@southfloridamedicalresearch.com.
For more information about Prostate Cancer, visit the websites below:
- National Cancer Institute Booklets and Cancer Information Service-Available by calling 1-800-4 CANCER (1-800-422-6237) or online at http://cancer.gov/publications
- American Urological Association Patient Information Resources http://www.urologyhealth.org
- National Institute on Aging http://www.nia.nih.gov/health
- Quest Diagnostics Patient Health Library http://www.questdiagnostics.com/kbase/default.htm
All information above was provided by Quest Diagnostics Inc. www.questdiagnostics.com