This research will try to determine whether the blood test for PSA along with digital rectal examination can help reduce the death rate from this disease. Neither of the screening tests for prostate cancer is perfect. Also, the digital rectal exam does not detect all prostate cancer. The presence of prostate cancer is suggested by either an abnormal digital rectal exam or when levels of PSA in the blood are high, but the diagnosis can be confirmed only by a microscopic examination of prostate tissue. This is done by a biopsy performed in the doctor's office.
Prostate cancer is characterized by both grade and stage.
Staging of prostate cancer means determining the site and location of the disease. Early prostate cancer, stages A and B, is localized to the prostate gland. Stage C prostate cancer is locally advanced outside the gland. Stage D prostate cancer has spread to other parts of the body. Radical prostatectomy is a surgical procedure to remove the entire prostate gland and nearby tissues.