'Other stuff' that increases PSA values

[GranPaSmurf]

Probably every man on this forum uses PSA results to establish trendlines, but this article reminds us of the 'other stuff' that increases PSA values.

everydayhealth.com/prostate...

[Peterd110]

Wonder if a long sit in the hot tub night before test could affect psa? 🤔.

[GranPaSmurf in reply to Peterd110]

Based on all this other 'stuff', I wouldn't be surprised.

[tom67inMA]

Hmm, not sure this applies to anybody on ADT. My understanding is PSA is supposed to go into the semen, and what's in the blood got there by "leaking" out of the prostate. Injure the prostate and more PSA will leak into the blood, thus why all these things can raise PSA in the absence of cancer.

Once you're on ADT and have castrate levels of T, my assumption would be the healthy cells in the prostate effectively stop all production of PSA, so any PSA that ends up in the blood is coming from cancer cells.

And then there's men like me, where if I understand "intraductal carcinoma" correctly, the cancer forms in the ducts of the prostate so the PSA still goes into the semen instead of the bloodstream, and there's no warning from a PSA test until the cancer is in your bones and the PSA has nowhere else to go.

[Gearhead]

While this isn't the main point of your post or the article, the part that caught my attention was well-known "Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has historically recommended against prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing in healthy men". I respect that physicians were applying there best professional judgment here, but not having a PSA for about 20 years was sure a mistake in my case. A MRI test for a different purpose in Jan 2019 happened to spot a spine met, and my subsequent PSA test (first in >20 years) was 111.

[timotur in reply to Gearhead]

Same experience, primary physician in 2010 discouraged a PSA test saying it might lead to anxiety and over treatment. I insisted, and it came back at 3.0. He said with negative DRE and family history, I don't have anything to worry about, leading me to not check it until 2018, when surprise, it was 23, t3bN1M0 +SV. My mistake was not seeing a Uro once I turned 50 or so.

[tallguy2 in reply to Gearhead]

Family history must be taken into account. Period.

[depotdoug]

I never ever heard about "Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). I thought or understand a PSA lab is or should be mandatory for a male > 50. Why not its inexpensive, could be lifesaving and painless, a lot less than advanced PCa.

[j-o-h-n]

Ruled this one out:

Number 6. Ejaculation Is a Potential Cause of Mildly Elevated PSA.

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Saturday 10/19/2019 1:22 PM DST

[GranPaSmurf]

😊

[GranPaSmurf]

Me impression is that PS ANTIGEN is a protein found in the Prostate cell. When the cell dies, usually on a 21 day cycle, the protein is released into the bloodstream. Since this is a normal replacement, there is always a circulating level. If more cells die than usual, the PSA will increase. If there is a lot more of those cells (tumor) then the level will increase, even though cancer cells resist the normal cycle of dying off.

[LowT]

Severe constipation has also been reported to cause mild elevation of PSA