How is prostate cancer tested?

The chances of a full recovery if prostate cancer is diagnosed early are very high: if optimum treatment is provided, specialists estimate that the patient will return to a normal life.
Some cancers are detected during a health check carried out during a consultation for benign hypertrophy of the prostate. This benign pathology occurs frequently in men over 50 and is generally highlighted by urination problems (difficulty in urinating, increase in frequency of desire to urinate, lower volume urinated each time). If you fall into this category, please see your doctor immediately.
More often, cancer is detected during a routine test recommended from the age of 50. In general, the test includes a personal and family medical history investigation (for families at risk), a digital rectal examination, and a test of the level of the prostate-specific-antigen (PSA) in the blood, which helps detect tumours that cannot be located by the digital rectal exam (approximately 30% of all prostate adenomatoid carcinoma).
If prostate adenomatoid carcinoma is suspected, the urologist will conduct other tests:
1. Biopsy: sampling of prostate tissue for analysis using very fine needles.
2. MRI or CT scan: imaging of all the areas of the body to look for an extension of the cancer to other organs (lymphatic ganglions, liver, etc.).
3. Bone radioisotope scanning: imaging by injecting a tracer to look for any extension of metastases to the bones.