PSA - Causes Of An Elevated PSA

IntroductionWhat causes an elevated PSA? Many men ask this question, especially those that are over 50 and are told by their doctor that their PSA is elevated.
In some cases they have never heard of a PSA test. So what is it and what could cause it to be elevated?

PSA Test

PSA stands for prostate-specific antigen and it is a measure of the enzyme produced by your prostate that has been released to your blood stream. Normally this enzyme is confined to the prostate and the urinary tract (keeps your semen in liquid form), but a small amount is released to your blood stream.
The amount that is released to your blood stream is usually measured at 3 ng/mL. If it goes above this amount, your doctor will evaluate the test score and your age to determine if it is elevated for your age.
For example, I had a PSA score of 5.8 ng/mL when I was 58 years old and it was considered elevated. Today, 10 years later, this would be considered normal since a mans prostate naturally grows as he ages with no underlying problems to the prostate.

Causes Of An Elevated PSA

There are three conditions of the prostate that could cause you to have an elevated PSA:

Cancer Of The Prostate - PSA testing was developed in the late 60s as a screening tool for prostate cancer. If your PSA was elevated, there is a possibility of prostate cancer. The next step is to determine if your prostate is cancerous by having a biopsy performed on your prostate.
Since this test was developed, cancer death rates from prostate cancer have decreased by almost 30%.
Other symptom you may notice is difficulty urinating, weak urine stream, blood in your urine or semen, swelling of your legs and bone pain.

Enlarged Prostate - An enlarged prostate will also cause an elevated PSA score. If your biopsy results come back benign for cancer on your prostate, then the conclusion will be that an enlarged prostate is causing your PSA to be elevated. You may also notice a weakness in your urine stream, frequent urination, dribbling and feeling of incomplete emptying the bladder.

Prostatitis - Prostatitis is the third reason why your PSA can be elevated. In this case not only will your PSA be elevated but also you will have pain in the groin area and a burning sensation when you are urinating.

There are several different types of prostatitis you can develop such as acute bacterial, chronic bacterial, chronic not bacterial caused and even prostatitis that does not result in symptoms.
The last one that could cause a high PSA is inaccurate lab results.