Researchers have concluded that prostate cancer is more threatening when a man's PSA level has been rising rapidly in the years prior to diagnosis. The study points the way to an earlier diagnosis and treatment of the most aggressive forms of prostate cancer. It also could allow a better understanding of which prostate cancer victims with a slow growth form of prostate cancer should be monitored. Researchers say men should get a "baseline" PSA reading at age 40.
"This is a test that doesn't just diagnose prostate cancer. It diagnoses prostate cancer that's going to actually cause harm," said Dr. H. Ballentine Carter, urology chief at Johns Hopkins University, who led the research.
- see the AP's report on the PSA research study