PSA Less than 4

2,950 men (ages 62 to 91) never had a PSA over 4.0 ng per milliliter after being in a study for 7 years.
449 (15.2%) had prostate cancer when a biopsy was done.
67 (14.9%) of the 449 men with cancer had with a Gleason score of 7 or higher.

Interestingly, the prevalence of prostate cancer in men with a PSA level up to 0.5 ng/milliliter was 6.6 percent.

The prevalence of prostate cancer with a PSA level up to 1.0 ng/milliliter was 16.7 percent.

Reference:

Thompson IM, Pauler DK, Goodman PJ, Tangen CM, Lucia MS, Parnes HL, Minasian LM, Ford LG, Lippman SM, Crawford ED, Crowley JJ, Coltman CA Jr: Prevalence of prostate cancer among men with a prostate-specific antigen level < or =4.0 ng per milliliter. N Engl J Med. 2004 May 27;350(22):2239-46.

---------------------------

By Bradley Hennenfent, MD
November 21, 2004