FREE REPORT. Your key pointers to a life-transforming diet

Find out the best diet for you in one of four free reports we'll give you when you join the WDDTY community. We'll also send you up-to-the-moment health news and advice twice a week, packed full of insights that may well transform your own health.

email to friend Printer friendly

e-news

Psa: it's a test that has had its day

01 April 1990

We've said it before, and now we have to say it again - the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test doesn't work. In fact, it works less well than even we thought.

A new study has found that it's failing to recognize eight out of every 10 cases of prostate cancer.

Researchers from Harvard Medical School analysed the test results of 6,691 men who had a PSA, and found that it failed to spot 82 per cent of cancer cases. The test also came up with just 2 per cent of 'false positives' - where the test detected a cancer that wasn't actually there - a pretty low rating compared to most other tests that throw up many more false positives.

So what can be done? The test currently assesses as healthy a PSA blood concentration of 4 ng/ml. If this was reduced to 2.6 ng/ml, researchers reckon that the test would detect around 36 per cent of cancers - but it would also dramatically increase the rate of false positives.

This is still not an acceptable detection rate. It's perhaps time to discard the PSA and search for a more reliable test.

(Source: New England Journal of Medicine, 2003; 349: 335-42).

PSA: is this a test that has had its day? - PSA: is this a test that has had its day? The prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test fails to recognise eight out of every 10 cases of prostate ca...

Hiv test giving false positives in 5% of all cases - Thousands of people wrongly believe they are HIV infected because of the standard Western blot test which is giving false positive results in nearly 5...

Prostate Cancer - The most common cancer in elderly men, prostate cancer depends on male hormones called androgens, particularly testosterone. The usual management of e...

Prostate cancer - Q:My husband, who is 63, was told several months ago that he had prostate cancer. I am giving my husband various homeopathic remedies. We have been...

Screening tests don't detect prostate cancer - New evidence suggests that men with early signs of prostate cancer are being missed because screening techniques are inadequate. ...

Prostate cancer: wait and see - The idea of "watchful waiting" as a method of dealing with prostate cancer has gained more ground following a study in Sweden, which has the world's f...

Prostate cancer: - Radiation therapy can lead to rectal cancer - Radiation is a popular treatment for men with prostate cancer, and it's becoming the first choice therapy ahead of surgery, especially among older pat...

Psa: - A test for anyone's belief - Regular readers will know that the PSA (prostate specific antigen) test is one of the most useless in the whole armoury of medical procedures. It's,...

The British Institute for the Identification & Treatment of Allergic Disorders

How You Beat Asthma
How To Beat Your M.E.
How You Beat ADHD
How You Beat Arthritis
How You Beat Backpain
How You Beat Depression How You Beat Pain
How You Beat The Menopause
How You Beat Heart Problems
WDDTY Health Shop

Register for our health updates and free gifts.
First Name:
Email: