The
digital rectal examination (DRE) and the
prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test are
two important ways to detect changes in the prostate gland.
However, they cannot determine if the changes are due to prostate
cancer or to a non-cancerous condition. In the event of a
significantly elevated PSA
test and/or abnormal DRE, a biopsy
— the surgical removal of tissue for examination under
a microscope — must be performed in order to make a definitive
diagnosis of prostate cancer. The biopsy is taken with the
guidance of transrectal
ultrasound, a procedure that uses sound waves
to create a video image of the prostate gland.
When
prostate cancer is found in a biopsy, a determination is made
of the cancer's grade,
an estimate of how quickly the tumor is likely to grow and
spread based on cancer cell patterns.
More
information:
The Prostate Cancer pages of this Web site are part of the Comprehensive Prostate Cancer Awareness Program (CPCAP), a major regional effort to reduce the rates of death and illness caused by prostate cancer in southwestern Pennsylvania. Funding for CPCAP is provided by a grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
