title: [Usefulness of prostatic specific antigen (PSA) for diagnosis and staging of patients with prostate cancer].
abstract: The incorporation of prostatic specific antigen (PSA) to clinical practice revolutionized diagnosis and modified  the epidemiology of prostate cancer(PCa). Although it lacks of many of the characteristics of an ideal tumor marker,  it is the marker most used for diagnosis and follow up of any type of cancer. It represents the best clinical tool we  currently have available for screening and staging of PCa. On the contrary, the greatest limitation PSA presents is its  lack of tumor specificity. The use of PSA molecular derivatives and isoforms tries to solve, at least in part, its  limitations. As a matter of fact, the use of % free PSA and PSAD significantly increases the test specificity for   diagnosis and, the use of derivatives evaluating PSA temporary kinetics (PSAV and PSADT) represent very useful  tools  to estimate líquiprognosis during disease treatment and follow up. With the ongoing development of new markers for PCa,  It is likely the role  of PSA in diagnosis and staging of the disease will be modified.
authors: Servicio de Urología, Hospital Universitario Vall d'Hebron, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, España. jplacersantos@gmail.com
authors: José
authors: J
authors: Placer
authors: Juan
authors: J
authors: Morote
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D000367:Age Factors; D000465:Algorithms; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D005810:Multigene Family; D060787:Neoplasm Grading; D009367:Neoplasm Staging / Q000379:methods; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000097:blood* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D020033:Protein Isoforms / Q000097:blood; D044469:Racial Groups; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D020033:Protein Isoforms; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen