The Role Of Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) In Early Detection And Management Of Prostate Cancer

Background: Prostate cancer ranks among the deadliest cancers men develop worldwide. Early diagnosis provides better chances to survive prostate cancer and protect daily activities. Doctors rely on PSA tests as their primary method to identify prostate health problems before treatment becomes more complex. Objectives: to determine how well PSA testing finds early prostate cancer and helps doctors develop better treatment plans. Study Design: A Cross-Sectional Study. Place and duration of study. Department of General Surgery Ziauddin Hospital Karachi from 05 july 2022 to 05 jan 2023 Methods: 100 men between 50 and 75 years old with PSA tests during a year. The data included PSA test values plus findings from physical exams and diagnostic tests when needed. We tested PSA level differences by computing standard deviation and p-values to identify variations that help detect cancer. Results: Out of 100 screened patients 40 showed PSA levels higher than 4 ng/mL. The biopsy reports showed that 25 people among them had prostate cancer. Our research revealed a clearly different PSA pattern between cancer patients who had 10.2 ± 2.5 ng/mL and non-cancer patients who had 3.1 ± 0.8 ng/mL (p < 0.001). PSA velocity and density helped identify cancer patients with aggressive tumors. Conclusion: Testing PSA levels enables doctors to find prostate cancer before symptoms appear. By combining current PSA screening methods with state-of-the-art tests we achieve better results and minimize unwanted procedures. Research teams need to keep studying how to make PSA testing work at its best for healthcare professionals. Keywords: Prostate cancer, PSA testing, Early detection, Biomarkers