PSA Test Price in Pakistan: PKR 2,310 at Marham Lab

PSA is a protein made by the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system that sits just below the bladder and makes the fluid part of semen. MedlinePlus explains that it is normal to have a low level of PSA in your blood, and that a PSA test measures how much is there. At Marham Lab it costs PKR 2,310.

This is the preparation instruction almost nobody is given, and it changes results.

MedlinePlus states you will need to avoid having sex or masturbating for 24 hours before your PSA test, because releasing semen can increase PSA levels and make your result less accurate.

A falsely raised PSA is not a harmless error here. It can lead to repeat tests, a rectal examination and in some cases a prostate biopsy, which carries its own risks. One day of abstinence avoids all of that.

Also tell your provider about any medicines you take, since MedlinePlus notes certain medicines can affect results. Do not stop anything unless told to.

MedlinePlus is unusually direct: there is no specific normal or abnormal level for PSA in blood. In general the higher the level, the more likely cancer is, but it is possible to have a high PSA without prostate cancer and a low PSA with it.

So a PSA result is not a pass or fail. It is one input your doctor reads alongside your age, symptoms, examination and history.

MedlinePlus lists the causes of a high PSA level:

• Prostate cancer
• An enlarged prostate, also called benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH
• Prostatitis, meaning inflammation of the prostate gland
• Other common prostate problems
• Urinary tract infections
• Taking certain medicines

Enlarged prostate and prostatitis are common in older men, and a [urine test](/labs/tests/urine-test-price) is one of the checks MedlinePlus lists for investigating a raised PSA, precisely because a urinary infection can lift it.

MedlinePlus states plainly that a PSA test cannot show what is causing an abnormal level, so a high result means more tests rather than a diagnosis.

We would rather say this than sell a test badly.

MedlinePlus explains that most prostate cancers grow very slowly, do not spread beyond the prostate and may never cause health problems, and that a man can live a long life with prostate cancer and never know he has it. The goal of screening is to catch the cancers more likely to spread.

It then sets out the possible harms honestly:

• A PSA test cannot distinguish cancer from non-cancerous causes, and a prostate biopsy is the only way to find out. Biopsies carry risks including bleeding, blood in semen or urine, infection and difficulty urinating
• Screening may lead to finding and treating a cancer that would never have affected your health
• Treatment itself can cause erectile dysfunction, urinary incontinence and bowel incontinence

MedlinePlus says the decision should be made with your provider, weighing three things: your risk of developing a serious prostate cancer, your general health and whether you are well enough for treatment if cancer is found, and your own preferences about the benefits and harms.