PSA Total 2.5 ng/mL cutoff test

Are there any names for this test?

PSA Test, Prostate Specific Antigen Test, Prostate test

What is a PSA Total 2.5 ng/mL cutoff test?

A PSA Total 2.5 ng/mL cutoff test determines the total amount of PSA in your blood having an upper cutoff limit. Total PSA has two types. These include complex and free PSA. This test can measure the sum of these two PSA levels but does not define the levels of each PSA.

PSA is a protein developed by your cells in the prostate. Free PSA does not combine with protein, but complex PSA does. A prostate is a small gland located around the urethra in males. The prostate produces a fluid that is a part of semen (seminal fluid). Semen is the thick fluid excreted from the men's penis during sexual activity. Most of the PSA developed by your prostate comes into this fluid. Some of the PSA is available in the blood. High PSA levels may indicate prostate cancer. In men, PSA levels increase with age. African American people may have higher PSA levels at a young age.

What is the purpose of this test?

A PSA total test is a routine test for men aged 55 or 40 if they have prostate cancer. This test monitors and diagnoses prostate cancer in the body. Your healthcare professional may ask to repeat this test within a few weeks if the PSA total level is higher. When you have high total PSA levels, a free PSA test is often conducted. The PSA total test may order if you are a man and not treated for cancer.

The PSA total 2.5 ng/mL cutoff test helps to monitor how well treatment is going for prostate cancer if you have been diagnosed with it. Your provider may also order this test for follow-up therapy at daily intervals to see the repetition of cancer.

When to conduct the PSA Total test?

This test screens and observes prostate cancer in the body. Your provider may recommend the PSA Total 2.5 ng/mL cutoff test after a detailed discussion about the advantages and risks with you. You may have higher risks of developing prostate cancer if you have the following situations.
 

• Age – The risk increases after the age of 50.
• Family history – Your risk can be higher if any of the family members have experienced prostate cancer.
• Race – It is most common in African Americans. They have a higher risk of developing cancer even at a younger age.

The conditions that when a PSA Total 2.5 ng/mL cutoff test requires are:
 

• Cancer
• Prostate cancer
• Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy (Enlargement of the prostate gland).

When the age of a person increases, prostate cancer becomes common. Tumors or slow-growing cancer take more time to spread. Infertility in men occurs due to prostate cancer. Slow-growing prostate cancer indicates a low chance of death. These slow-growing cancers do not show symptoms.

The prostate screening test requires finding prostate cancer. Your healthcare provider may understand the difference between cancers that spread slowly and cancers that grow fast to the parts of the body.

What are the steps involved in the procedure for this test?

A PSA Total 2.5 ng/mL cutoff test involves the following procedure:
 

• You need to place an online order for this test.
• A healthcare professional will ask for a blood sample when you go to the laboratory.
• A small needle injects into a vein in your arm to collect your blood sample in a test tube.
• Your blood sample will store in the laboratory for examination.
• You can go home for daily activities.
• This test requires at least five minutes to finish.

How do I need to prepare for PSA total 2.5 ng/mL cutoff test?

Your doctor will recommend avoiding sex or masturbation for 24 hours before the test. That's due to semen excretion can lead to high PSA levels that may affect your test results. Some specific medicines may also change the test results. You can talk about it with the doctor that you are using.

What are the risks in the PSA total test?

A PSA Total 2.5ng/mL cutoff test is a blood test. This test does not have high risks. Following are some symptoms you may feel when the needle injects into a vein in your arm.
 

• Slight pain or itchy feeling
• Bleeding
• Infection
• Bruising
• Extreme bleeding (Hematoma)

These symptoms do not stay for a long time.

What do the test results mean?

The PSA total 2.5 ng/mL cutoff test may determine in many ways. There may be slightly different cutoff values among laboratories.

The recommended range for Total PSA levels lies below 4.0 ng/mL. It means you do not have the presence of prostate cancer. According to some researchers, the value should be at 2.5 ng/mL to identify more cases of prostate cancer. If men have total PSA levels greater than 10.0 ng/mL, they are at risk of developing prostate cancer.

The values between 4.0 to 10.0 ng/mL may indicate prostate inflammation, prostate cancer, or benign prostatic hyperplasia. These diseases and the increase in PSA levels are common in older people. The gray zone is the region in which your value of Total PSA levels lies between 4.0 to 10 ng/mL. Your provider may also need to recommend free PSA within this range.

Prostate cancers develop complex PSA compared to free PSA. The prostate cancer cells produce free PSA that does not link to proteins. Therefore, a man in the gray zone has low free PSA levels, but they contain high complex PSA levels, which leads to a higher risk for prostate cancer. You are at low risk for prostate cancer if you have high amounts of free PSA but low levels of complex PSA. In some men, the Total PSA levels may rise if you have other prostate problems, specifically infection.

If the initial results for the PSA Total test are higher, you need a follow-up PSA test within a few weeks to observe whether the PSA level is high. A healthcare professional may also suggest a sequence of PSAs with time to see if the level decreases, increases, or stays high.

What additional tests do I need along with this test?

A PSA Total 2.5 ng/mL cutoff test is not an indicator of cancer. Prostate cancer identifies by the prostate biopsy, in which small samples of prostate tissues examine under a microscope. The total PSA and digital rectum tests allow your provider to know whether you need a prostate biopsy. The tests that may need to order along with this test are:
 

• CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen)
• Tumor Markers
• PSA density
• PSA velocity
• PSA doubling time

It is a suggestion to review the results of the  PSA total 2.5 ng/mL cutoff test with a verified doctor. You can make an online appointment here.