Is 0 PSA really 0

My VA doctor has been telling me for a year that the PSA has been negative.  I just received a copy of my medical records and it has always has been .01 or .02.  It is impossible to get him on the phone to question him.  Does anyone know if a small amount of PSA is always in the blood?  3 months ago it was .01 this month it was .02 so I am also wondering if the test is definitive or does the Lab make a judgement call as to the amount of PSA?  Thanks!

Hi Rock

A lot of times numbers such as yours are considered 0. This is very normal. First there is a margin of error and secondly there seems to be what I call an "echo" number such as yours which is extremely low.

My post surgery number was less than .05 which I consider 0. This of course does not mean that I stop testing. I will have another blood test probably this week. I am expecting the best.

Congratulations on the great results.

David

You should have a minmal amount detected. And remember, women can have a measurable PSA level as well when using the fine PSA assays. My understanding is that our adrenal glands can produce enough PSA to be detected. This is why ultrafine PSA tests will show a fluctuating amount of PSA. It is also why my oncologist does not use those tests. According to him anything below 0.1 is considered likely not produced by prostate cancer. I have been watching this site for close to a year and have seen some of your PSA's measured in numbers like .01, .05 etc. Of course it struck me to ask why my tests were only a single digit in the tenths column. My oncologist said he could run finer PSA assays but would not because of the natural ability to produce PSA by other means would render the test less than 50% accurate. So I'm told.

Tony

Kind of late to post, but sometimes the difference in the PSA score could come about because of two different labs doing the testing. Be sure to always use the same lab to test your PSA. Hang tight and God Bless, Uncle Dan