Raised psa what does it means
PSA is a protein which is over expressed in prostate cancer So most of it is secreted in the semen but there is a small amount of circulating protein in the blood and a raised PSA is often a marker for prostate cancer However there is a lot of conflicting data on PSA testing and the reason for this is that just a simple enlargement of the prostate which happens with age in males can also cause a rise in PSA Similarly there are certain prostate cancers where PSA may not be raised just an isolated raised PSA value needs to be corroborated with a digital rectal examination so your urologist or the surgeon or your physician actually palpates the prostate to see whether it is smooth whether there are nodules whether it is hard whether it is fixed so there are a lot of things which need to be seen and also with certain imaging which may be ultrasound which is done a trans rectal ultrasound MRI multi parametric MRI of the prostate or a PSMA PET scan So all these together may be used as a screening technique for prostate cancer so just an isolated raised PSA cannot be just taken as an indicator of prostate cancer it has to be corroborated.