Change in PSA level does not predict prostate cancer

Saturday, February 26, 2011 - 12:40 in Health & Medicine

Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre have found that change in PSA levels over time - known as PSA velocity - is a poor predictor of prostate cancer and may lead to many unnecessary biopsies. The new study of more than 5,000 men was published online February 24 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Andrew Vickers, PhD, Associate Attending Research Methodologist in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and lead author said, 'We have found no evidence to support the recommendation that men with a high PSA velocity should be biopsied in the absence of other indications. In other words, if a man's PSA has risen rapidly in recent years, there is no cause for concern if his total PSA level is still low and his clinical exam is normal.'...

Read the whole article on

More from

Latest Science Newsletter

Get the latest and most popular science news articles of the week in your Inbox! It's free!

Check out our next project, Biology.Net