Diagnosing inflammation of the prostate gland is currently a very simple procedure for a doctor. Apart from the rare atypical forms of the disease, acute prostatitis is relatively easy to diagnose.
During the treatment of the disease the patient must undergo a series of laboratory and instrumental tests. Patients often wonder why they should take a general blood test for PSA for prostatitis. Not everyone understands the role of this marker in diagnosing the underlying disease.
What is PSA?
Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is a special glycoprotein that is produced exclusively by prostate cells. Its main role is to liquefy sperm and activate sperm during ejaculation.
This protein can be found in the blood and because it is produced only in the prostate, it partially demonstrates its function and all kinds of lesions.
It is widely used in the diagnosis of diseases such as:
- Chronic prostatitis;
- Benign prostatic hyperplasia - prostate adenoma;
- Malignant neoplasms of the male organ - prostate cancer.
A general PSA blood test for chronic prostatitis may show disease progression and a dangerous complication of the disease, which manifests itself with degeneration of damaged cells into atypical ones with prostate cancer.
Prostate specific antigen is a tumor marker that can indicate the presence of a tumor at an early stage of its development.
Normal indicators
Because the protein is synthesized in the tissues of the male gland, the presence of a small volume of it in the blood is normal. The screening threshold for normal tumor marker activity is up to 4 ng / ml in the blood.
The amount of protein directly depends on the following factors:
- The age of the man. There is some correlation between the patient's age and the activity of glandular marker production;
- The regularity of sexual intercourse;
- The presence of an inflammatory process in the prostate;
- Physical trauma and organ damage;
- Delayed surgical interventions or specific diagnostic procedures (prostate massage, digital rectal examination);
- Taking medication.
All of these aspects can affect the number of antigens in the bloodstream and sometimes even confuse doctors. Therefore, it is necessary to know how to properly pass a blood test for PSA for common male prostatitis, so that further therapy is successful.
PSA preparation
Before a man donates blood to detect prostate-specific antigen, he must observe some important points that prevent misinterpretation of the end result.
To avoid laboratory errors, the patient should consider the following characteristics:
- You should not eat 8 hours before taking blood. You can drink tea, juice or water.
- Avoid cycling, stationary cycling or hiking long distances (>5 km) 24 hours before the start of the study.
- 1 week before the test you should abstain from sexual intercourse and masturbation, eat spicy and smoked food.
- If the patient has undergone transrectal ultrasound of the prostate (TRUS), digital examination of the rectum, colonoscopy or catheterization of the bladder, it is necessary to wait at least 7 days before determining the PSA in the blood.
- After a prostate biopsy or prostate massage, you should wait 2 weeks.
Only if all these rules are followed will it be possible to say that the PSA blood test for general prostatitis will be really reliable.
Decoding and goals of PSA tests
The main purpose of such research is the ability to control the course of the chronic form of the disease and to quickly identify the problem if a malignant tumor (tumor formation) occurs.
In diseases such as acute, chronic, bacterial, congestive prostatitis, the PSA level may rise slightly to 5 ng / ml. This is still not a cause for panic. If after adequate drug therapy the indicator does not return to normal, then this is considered an absolute indication for organ puncture with subsequent histological examination.
Usually, the larger the prostate, the more cells are able to produce glycoprotein. It has been clinically proven that 1 gram of parenchyma of the organ in benign hyperplasia additionally synthesizes 0. 35 ng / ml antigen. The same rate for cancer is 3. 5 ng / ml.
This ratio allows doctors with a high degree of reliability to assess the possibility of developing malignant neoplasms in chronic inflammation of the prostate gland. According to statistics, 83% of cancer patients simultaneously suffer from prolonged inflammation in the male gland. This allows us to consider this pathology as a predictor of cancer.
Conclusion
A blood test for PSA in prostatitis is part of the mandatory examinations of urological patients. Its importance can hardly be overestimated, as it can reliably indicate the formation of atypical cell growth, which leads to the development of malignant neoplasms.