The role of prostate specific antigen measurement in the detection and management of prostate cancer

The introduction of prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing has revolutionised the early detection, management and follow-up of patients with prostate cancer and it is considered to be one of the best biochemical markers currently available in the field of oncology. Its use with annual digital rectal examination in prostate cancer screening programmes has led to a marked change in the distribution of stage at presentation towards earlier disease and has led to a significant increase in the detection of potentially curable disease. In order to improve the specificity of PSA testing and thereby reduce the number of unnecessary prostatic biopsies, a number of refinements of PSA evaluation have been proposed. These include free to total PSA ratio, PSA density, PSA density of the transition zone, PSA velocity and age-specific PSA reference ranges. The utility of these approaches is considered in this review. The role of PSA monitoring in the detection of recurrence following radical prostatectomy and radiotherapy is discussed, as well as its role in monitoring patients treated with endocrine therapy in terms of correlating PSA response with outcome, in detecting disease progression and in guiding the use of subsequent therapies. Large continuing multicentre screening and outcome studies will provide important information enabling greater refinement of the use of this important diagnostic and monitoring tool in the future detection and management of prostate cancer.