psa 4.7

[oyahcr]

My psa is 4.7; I am 66 years old.  I do not have a urinary infection, and my urologist does not believe I have an enlarged prostate.  He found a node during the DRE.  It seems that, by process of elimination (no pun intended) I must have prostate cancer. Would you concur with this conclusion?

[Rowena Santos, MD]

How are you? The main screening tools for prostate cancer are the Digital Rectal Exam (DRE) and the Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) test. Normal values is <4 ng/ml. Other doctors interpret the normal PSA range based on age. In your case: ages 60-60 normal range is <4.5 ng/mL. Results of the PSA are not diagnostic of prostate cancer. If PSA levels come back in the highly elevated range, it can indicate prostate cancer, and further diagnosis is indicated.
(http://prostatecancer.about.com/od/screeninganddetection/a/PSATest.htm)

With regards to your prostate node,  was there a biopsy done? You should discuss this with your doctor for proper evaluation and to rule out cancer. Take care and keep us posted.

[Vanessa Lacuesta]

Hi

This is slightly elevated but not elevated enough to increase the likelihood of prostate cancer. What counts here is that the PSA levels should be monitored repeatedly in the next few months to determine if the levels are increasing. This will be more significant than a single PSA determination.

Do you have other underlying disease conditions?