| The Hybritech total PSA and free PSA tests are widely regarded as among the most trusted tests for prostate cancer detection. Indeed, the commonly used cutoffs and other criteria for evaluating PSA and free PSA results were derived using the Hybritech tests. Because PSA tests are not all standardized, these criteria do not necessarily apply to other manufacturers’ assays.
The original research that led the FDA to declare the total PSA test as a safe and effective method for detecting prostate cancer was performed using the Hybritech Tandem-R PSA test because of its desirable characteristics. Hybritech Tandem-R free PSA tests were used in the research that established the usefulness of free PSA. (The Tandem-R tests were manual tests; Beckman Coulter now manufactures Hybritech Access® PSA and free PSA tests, which are run on an automated analyzer. References in this site refer to the Access methods, unless otherwise noted.)
If a patient’s total PSA test was performed with a Hybritech test, it is also important that his free PSA be measured with the Hybritech free PSA test, because total PSA and free PSA results must be calibrated to each other. This is easily accomplished with Hybritech tests.
For more information on the Hybritech PSA and free PSA tests, click here.
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The Hybritech® free PSA test helps determine the percent of free PSA. And the measurement of percent free PSA improves the accuracy of prostate cancer detection while eliminating a projected 20 percent of all prostate biopsies. The free PSA test is used following a non-suspicious DRE and a total PSA test that shows moderately elevated PSA levels (between 4 and 10 ng/mL) in men aged 50 years and older. (Catalona WJ, et al. Use of the percentage of free prostate specific antigen to enhance differentiation of prostate cancer from benign prostatic disease: A prospective multicenter clinical trial. JAMA 279:1542-1547, 1998.) |
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