Consult, I appreciate the posts and I generally know about them.
However, you are so focused on caring about the PSA test as the end-all, be-all, when everyone knows it is insufficient now for many years. That makes your posts rather less useful.
Stop feeding this line of inappropriate thinking to everyone here. Medical science has moved beyond the PSA test because of the information in your posts. What should next happen after a higher PSA test, in place of a biopsy, if the PSA isn’t good for that level of work? We have a TON of options to pare down the need for a biopsy:
From “Alternatives to a Prostate Biopsy: 4 Tests to Identify Your Risk of Prostate Cancer”
Two other options after PSA and the classic “finger up the butt”
- Transrectal ultrasound (TRUS)
- Urine test to determine your Mi-prostate score (MiPS)
https://www.healthline.com/health/prostate-cancer/prostate-biopsy-alternatives
From “Related biomarkers in the diagnosis of prostate cancer”
- Prostate cancer antigen 3
- Early prostate cancer antigen
- Prostate-specific membrane antigen
- Alpha-methylacyl-CoA racemase
- Vascular endothelial growth factor
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26665686/
From “Alternative tests to PSA for prostate cancer diagnosis”
- Serum kallikreins
- Serum detectable prostate specific membrane antigen
- The nuclear matrix protein EPCA
- EPCA-2
- Prostatic acid phosphatase
- Urine detectable GSTP1
- Anti-AMACR antibodies
- Sarcosine
- Plasminogen activating urokinase
- IGFBP
- TGF beta 1
- PSP94
- IL6
- Plasmatic DNA
- Serum autoantibodies
- Neuroendocrine markers
- Proteomic analysis
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21553390/
From “
- Free AND Complexed PSA
- IsoPSA
- 4K Score
- Prostate Health Index (PHI) (a combination of above items)
https://blogs.webmd.com/mens-health/20181231/5-alternatives-to-the-psa-screening-test
From “ Sugar: The Key to a More Accurate Prostate Cancer Test?” [Not publicly available]
- The Sugar test (4 of 56 glycans only show if having cancer)
https://www.bensnaturalhealth.com/blog/alternative-to-psa-test/
As you can see, there are a myriad of other tests that could be used, once a higher PSA is found. If the additional selected tests also show concern, then a biopsy could be more urgent.
We both agree we want to limit biopsies. However, I appear to be the only one of us telling people to go forward, rather than stop and “take death like a man.”
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