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Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test

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By Jeannette Curtis; Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS

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Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a substance released into a man's blood by his prostate gland. A PSA test measures the amount of prostate-specific antigen in the blood.

Low amounts of PSA may be found in the blood of healthy men. The amount of PSA in the blood normally increases as a man's prostate enlarges with age. It is also increased by inflammation of the prostate gland (prostatitis) and by prostate cancer.

Author:Jeannette Curtis
Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS
Medical Review:
Last Updated: 05/25/2007