Diagnostic Tests for Prostate conditions
Prostate conditions Tests: Book Excerpts
Home Diagnostic Testing
These home medical tests may be relevant to Prostate conditions:
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- Prostate Health: Home Testing:
- Kidney Health: Home Testing:
Prostate conditions Diagnosis: Book Excerpts
Tests and diagnosis discussion for Prostate conditions:
To find the cause of prostate
symptoms, the doctor takes a careful medical history and performs a
physical exam. The physical includes a digital rectal exam, in which
the doctor feels the prostate through the rectum. Hard or lumpy
areas may mean that cancer is present.
Some doctors also
recommend a blood test for a substance called prostate specific
antigen (PSA). PSA levels may be high in men who have prostate
cancer or BPH. However, the test is not always accurate. Researchers
are studying changes in PSA levels over time to learn whether the
test may someday be useful for early diagnosis of prostate
cancer.
If a doctor suspects prostate cancer, he or she may recommend a
biopsy. This is a simple surgical procedure in which a small piece
of prostate tissue is removed with a needle and examined under a
microscope. If the biopsy shows prostate cancer, other tests are
done to determine the type of treatment needed. (Source: excerpt from Prostate Problems - Age Page - Health Information: NIA)
Diagnostic Tests for Prostate conditions: Online Medical Books
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for more information about the diagnostic tests for Prostate conditions.
Prostate Abnormality:
Diagnostic Approach
(Field Guide to Bedside Diagnosis)
History helps in risk stratification: Men with a first degree relative with prostate cancer have a 2 to 3 fold increased incidence of prostate cancer. With 2 first degree relatives, this increases 5 to 8 fold.
The normal prostate is heart-shaped with a median raphe and a mass of 20 to 25 g. Carefully examine the posterior surfaces of the lateral lobes because this is where most prostate cancer originates. In screening for prostate cancer, digital rectal examination (DRE) looking for nodules, induration, or asymmetry may help to calibrate PSA values in the “gray zone” of 4 to 10. For example, a large gland may offer an explanation for a mildly elevated PSA, but a small gland or one with induration or asymmetry should heighten suspicion of prostate cancer. The positive predictive value for prostate cancer of an abnormal finding on DRE is 15% to 30%, increasing odds 1.5- to 2-fold. Because of low sensitivity, the value of a negative DRE to rule out prostate cancer is low. Men with an abnormality on DRE and a PSA ,4 still have a probability of prostate cancer of 12%, so biopsy is usually recommended. Examination followed by biopsy of any prostate nodule is the appropriate tactic because the clinical examination alone is not accurate enough in distinguishing benign causes from adenocarcinoma.
New suspicious findings on DRE in a patient with an initial negative baseline helps to select for aggressive tumors. Cancer found based on the first DRE has a 5 year prostate cancer mortality of 3% and 10 year mortality of 14%. Cancer found on a subsequent DRE has mortalities of 19% and 43% respectively.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Field Guide to Bedside Diagnosis, 2007
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