Advantages and disadvantages of having the PSA test

First, ask yourself if you are at particular risk of prostate cancer.

Your risk increases:

• the older you are (but in older men, prostate cancer is less likely to cause problems)
• if you have close relatives who have had prostate cancer (such as a father, uncle or brother)
• if you are of African-Caribbean or African-American descent.

Possible advantages

• It could reassure you if the test is normal
• it can help to find cancers before any symptoms develop
• treatment in the early stages could help you live longer and avoid the complications of cancer (although there is no good research evidence that this is so).

Possible disadvantages

• It could read normal when there is cancer in the prostate, and falsely reassure you that all is well
• it could lead to anxiety, even though you have no cancer
• it could lead to a biopsy, even though you have no cancer
• if you have cancer it can’t tell you if it is likely to cause problems in the future
• treatment of early prostate cancers might not help you live longer
• treatments for early prostate cancer have risks and may cause side effects that can affect your quality of life.