PSA Revisited

The link between PSA blood-test results and prostate cancer has seen its share of controversy; one recent study found that some men developed the cancer even when their PSA readings were normal. A new study suggests that it is the rate of increase in a man's PSA level, not the level itself, that determines the risk of death from the disease. The study found that among 1,100 men with prostate cancer, those whose PSA levels rose more than 2 points in the year before diagnosis were nearly 10 times as likely to die.