PSA Test Made Harder by Obesity
Jun 28th, 2008 by Brandon
A Reuters news story (originated by the journal Urology) explains how obesity makes it harder for the PSA test to do what it’s supposed to do … detect prostate cancer. The prostate-specific antigen test (or PSA for short) is the common method used to detect prostate cancer in men.
Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a protein produced by certain cells within the prostate gland. The level of these proteins can be measured through a blood test. An abnormally high level of PSA in the blood is an indication of potential prostate cancer or possibly some benign condition with the prostate.
But with obese patients, the PSA test is harder to perform. At least, according to a recent news story in Reuters. The new findings, published in the journal Urology, suggest that because obese men’s PSA levels tend to be relatively low in general, some cancers may be missed or not detected promptly.
“Obese men have lower PSA values likely due to excess blood volume,” Freedland, the senior investigator on the study, told Reuters Health. He went on to recommend that when performing the PSA test on obese patients, doctors should adjust the value they call “abnormal” downward.
SOURCE: “Obesity may interfere with prostate cancer screen,” Reuters, June 2008.