PSA reading

I am 76 years old and had a PSA test done last Saturday. Today my urologist siad the reading was 4.0, which got me very worried/concerned, but he said it was normal for me, and not to worry.

(I had TUMT done on Sept. 28th)

I've read the following on the Internet and wonder if anyone had read the article or had any comments about the article:

Does the PSA range/level rise with age?

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Scientists are refining the way that they interpret PSA results to try to distinguish cancer more accurately from non-malignant situations. For example, an age-related scale has been suggested to account for older men naturally having larger, "leakier" prostates that allow more PSA to flow into the bloodstream. Thus, the upper limit of normal for a 45-year-old may be 2.5, while a 75-year-old man's normal PSA level may be 6.5. Older men typically have slightly higher PSA levels than younger men.

Normal ranges by age group commonly used include:

Men below age 50: PSA less than 2.5

Men 50 - 59 years: PSA level less than 3.5

Men 60 - 69 years: PSA level less than 4.5

Men older than 70 years: PSA level less than 6.5

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Post Edited (Prayerful) : 10/23/2012 7:45:47 PM (GMT-6)

Thanks. Makes me feel a bit better. So many things happening at this time of my life, and now this prostate "thing." Have you also heard that your PSA range does go up with age?

Here's one of the articles. Hope it is the one you were referring to:

http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/test/psa/overview.html

Post Edited (Prayerful) : 10/23/2012 7:41:38 PM (GMT-6)

Seeing that you have had the TUMT (I assume it was for treatment of urination difficulty) it is a pretty sure bet that your prostate was enlarged, causing it to squeeze down on the urethra. With enlargement comes higher PSA ----- that is why the PSA rises with age. For some reason at about 45 the gland in many men begins growing again (the first growth spurt is at puberty) and the enlargement often results in urinary problems. There is a correlation between prostate size and PSA ----- if you know the size of your prostate (in CCs) multiply it by 0.066 and the result is roughly the expected PSA for that size gland.
Bill

My understanding is same as others; the threshold for concern is raised over the years because men's prostates enlarge with aging. But you didn't mention if the doc did a DRE. That should be done. No need to worry, just get it tested annually.

those psa ranges by age sound in line with what i was told about 4 years ago. i wish you the best