title: The role of prostate-specific antigen in light of new scientific evidence.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Review the scientific evidence acquired in recent years on Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA).
  
  
  METHODS
  Analysis of the available evidence on the current role of PSA, according to a panel of experts who recorded their experience on the subject.
  Currently, PSA cannot be considered solely an indicator of the presence or absence of prostate cancer. Rather, the determination of PSA assists the urologist in indicating the most appropriate treatment for a patient with benign prostatic hypertrophic (BPH), as well as in suspecting a prostatic tumour when the PSA reading increases >0,3 ng/ml, in patients treated with 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor, over the reading achieved at six months of having initiated this treatment. Moreover, PSA is a key factor in the follow-up of patients with prostate adenocarcinoma who undergo surgery, radiation therapy or minimally invasive techniques. PSA helps to define biochemical recurrence, suggest the existence of a local or distal recurrence and propose or rule out adjuvant therapies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  New data on the current role of PSA in the management of patients treated for BPH and/or prostate cancer should be taken into account.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Urología, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, España. Electronic address: chernandez.hgugm@salud.madrid.org.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hernández
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Morote
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Miñana
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Cózar
mesh_terms: D058891:5-alpha Reductase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000097:blood* / Q000628:therapy; D000728:Androgens; D001918:Brachytherapy; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003452:Cryosurgery; D003657:Decision Making; D018450:Disease Progression; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000097:blood; D009376:Neoplasms, Hormone-Dependent / Q000097:blood / Q000628:therapy; D009929:Organ Size; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011467:Prostate / Q000473:pathology; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000097:blood*; D011468:Prostatectomy; D011470:Prostatic Hyperplasia / Q000097:blood* / Q000628:therapy; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000628:therapy
chemical_list: D058891:5-alpha Reductase Inhibitors; D000728:Androgens; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen