Prostate Testing
PSA test in Plymouth
PSA stands for Prostate Specific Antigen, a protein made by the prostate gland. A PSA blood test measures the level of this protein in your blood. It is a genuinely useful piece of information for a Clinician to have, alongside your symptoms, age and family history – but it is a limited tool, and it is important to understand what it can and cannot tell you before you book one.
PSA is not a screening test, and it cannot rule out cancer. A raised PSA result does not mean you have prostate cancer, and a normal PSA result does not mean you are free of it. The UK does not currently offer PSA screening to men generally, precisely because the test is not reliable enough on its own to justify testing everyone with no symptoms or risk factors. More detail on why, and on a narrow exception introduced in 2026, further down this page.
Why PSA results are hard to interpret
PSA does not rise only because of cancer. An enlarged prostate, a urine infection, recent ejaculation, cycling, or even a recent prostate examination can all push the level up. That is why raised PSA results need further investigation rather than being read as a diagnosis on their own, and why a normal result is reassuring rather than conclusive.
Of roughly 20 men with a raised PSA result, about 15 will not turn out to have prostate cancer once investigated further (light circles). Around 5 will (dark circles).
Of roughly 20 men with a normal PSA result, about 3 may still have prostate cancer that the test did not pick up (dark circles).
Illustrative proportions based on NICE-cited figures: around 75% of raised PSA results are not prostate cancer, and around 15% of men with a normal PSA result may still have it. See References below.
Prostate cancer in the UK and the South West
Prostate cancer became the most common cancer diagnosed in the UK in January 2025, overtaking breast cancer for the first time.
Risk rises sharply with age: most cases are diagnosed in men over 65, with the highest number of new diagnoses in men aged 75 to 79. Black men face a substantially higher lifetime risk, around 1 in 4, compared with 1 in 8 for men overall, and are usually advised to discuss testing with their GP from an earlier age. A father or brother with prostate cancer roughly doubles your own risk.
Who PSA testing is currently offered to
There is no national programme inviting all men in the UK to have a PSA test, in the way there is for some other cancers. Current NHS guidance is symptom and risk-led rather than a blanket screening programme, and varies slightly by nation. In England and Wales, NICE guidance supports testing men who have urinary symptoms, erectile dysfunction, or visible blood in their urine, with referral thresholds that vary by age. Scotland’s guidance additionally supports testing men aged 50 and over, or 45 and over with risk factors, who ask for a test after a discussion of the pros and cons with their GP.
Update, May 2026. The UK National Screening Committee has recommended a new, narrowly targeted PSA screening programme, offered every two years to men aged 45 to 61 who carry a BRCA2 gene change and have a family history of breast, ovarian, pancreatic or prostate cancer. This followed evidence that this specific group carries a higher risk of faster-growing prostate cancer. The Committee was explicit that this is not a recommendation for prostate cancer screening for all men, for Black men as a group, or for men with a family history but no BRCA2 gene change – the test still is not considered reliable enough, at a population level, to justify screening outside this specific higher-risk group. As this is a recent change, do check current NHS eligibility with your GP – implementation timelines can move after a recommendation like this is published.
You may want to discuss a PSA test with a Clinician if:
you have urinary symptoms, erectile dysfunction, or blood in your urine; you are over 50; you are Black and over 45; you have a father or brother who had prostate cancer; or you know you carry a BRCA2 gene change with a relevant family history.
A PSA test is not needed simply because:
you are a healthy man of any age with no symptoms and no known risk factors. Testing without a reason can lead to unnecessary worry, further tests, and treatment for a slow-growing cancer that may never have caused a problem.
Having a PSA test with us
We offer PSA as a standalone test, and it is also included in the Well Man Health Check and available as an option within the Standard Screen Plus. Avoid cycling and ejaculation for 48 hours beforehand, as both can temporarily raise the result. Your result comes back with a written commentary from a Clinician explaining what it means and what, if anything, we would suggest next – it is not simply emailed to you against a reference range.
Current pricing for PSA, the Well Man Health Check and the Standard Screen Plus is on our price list.
References
- Cancer Research UK, prostate cancer incidence statistics: cancerresearchuk.org
- Prostate Cancer UK, analysis of NHS diagnosis figures for the UK and South West England, 2022 data, reported January to February 2026: prostatecanceruk.org
- Cancer Research UK, on PSA test accuracy and NICE-cited false positive and false negative rates: cancerresearchuk.org
- UK National Screening Committee, targeted prostate cancer screening recommendation, May 2026: gov.uk
This page summarises publicly available UK statistics and guidance as a general information resource. It is not personal medical advice. Please discuss your own risk and whether a PSA test is right for you with a Clinician.
Want to talk it through first?
If you are not sure whether a PSA test is the right one for you, ring us on 01752 938102 or email Hello@TamarHealth.com and we will help you decide.
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