Prostate-specific antigen velocity (PSAV): a practical role for PSA?

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Australian men. Early detection and treatment are critical to patient outcome, but detection is often difficult because of the limited accuracy of available tests. This paper assesses whether the use of prostate specific antigen kinetics has a practical use in the contemporary urological setting. METHODS: A Medline literature review was performed examining related articles on the commonly available tests for prostate cancer, what they mean, their limited accuracy in cancer detection, and how this accuracy can be improved. DISCUSSION: Detection of significant organ-confined prostate cancer should be the goal of general practitioners and urologists alike. Prostate-specific antigen and digital rectal examination are commonly used but lack specificity and sensitivity, especially for small organ-confined cancers. The additional use of prostate-specific antigen velocity may enhance the specificity and sensitivity of detection.