Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA), Profile
The PSA profile includes total PSA, free PSA, and the free/total ratio. This comprehensive assessment provides the best non-invasive evaluation of prostate cancer risk.
- DHA-licensed lab
- Includes Doctor Consultation
- Physician-reviewed
- Same Day Collection
2 to 3 days
Turnaround
Blood
Sample
What the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA), Profile test tells you
The PSA profile is a package rather than a single measurement. From one blood sample the laboratory reports the total prostate-specific antigen, the unbound fraction of it, and the relationship between the two. Ordering them together is deliberate: taking them from the same tube, at the same moment, is the only way the comparison between them can be trusted, and separate visits would introduce differences that have nothing to do with your prostate.
Each component answers a different part of one question. The total says how much of the enzyme is leaking out of the gland into the blood. That quantity rises with cancer, but it rises far more often with benign prostatic hyperplasia, the age-related enlargement that is extremely common in older men, and it also rises with prostatitis, urinary infection, urinary retention and any recent physical disturbance of the gland. So a raised total is not a diagnosis of cancer; it is a question. The unbound fraction and its relationship to the total address that question by describing the character of the PSA present rather than just the amount, because benign and malignant tissue tend to shift the balance between bound and unbound forms in opposite directions. Read as a pattern, the profile is more informative than the total on its own, though a result within the usual range still does not rule prostate cancer out.
What the profile does is help a urologist choose the next step: reassure and repeat later, arrange imaging, or move to a biopsy. It also creates a richer baseline, since how each component changes over the years is more telling than any single visit. What it cannot do is diagnose: prostate cancer is confirmed on tissue. And for a man with no symptoms, deciding to run the profile at all involves a real trade-off, because testing can catch cancers that matter and can also lead to investigation and treatment of cancers that never would have. Both are true, and which weighs more depends on your circumstances, so the conversation with your doctor belongs before the test.
Recommended for men over 50 (or over 40 with risk factors) as a comprehensive prostate cancer screening. Also used for monitoring after prostate cancer treatment.
- One sample, fuller picture
Measuring total and free PSA on the same tube is what makes the comparison between them reliable, which two separate visits cannot guarantee.
- Better-informed biopsy decisions
The combined pattern separates benign enlargement from cancer more specifically than the total alone, which can spare procedures that would not change management.
- Establishing a baseline
A profile recorded while you are well gives future results something meaningful to be measured against.
- Monitoring known prostate disease
In men under active surveillance or after treatment, the profile is repeated to detect a change that actually matters.
Reasons your doctor may request the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA), Profile test
Your doctor may order this test for any of the reasons below. Some are routine checks, others follow specific symptoms or an earlier result.
Clarifying a raised PSA
- You have discussed prostate testing with your doctor and want a fuller assessment than the total alone.
- A previous total PSA was modestly raised and the reason is not yet clear.
- A previous biopsy found nothing but your PSA has not settled.
Urinary symptoms
- You have urinary symptoms suggesting an enlarged prostate.
Family risk & active surveillance
- A father or brother has had prostate cancer and your doctor is assessing your risk.
- You are on active surveillance and attending for scheduled follow-up.
Your report carries one band labelled Multi-parameter panel, with no unit: the profile is read as a pattern rather than as a single figure. It sets out total PSA, free PSA and the relationship between them from the same sample, and it is that relationship your doctor weighs. A raised total is common and usually has a benign explanation, and the free component helps judge how likely that is; a low total is the expected finding and calls for no action of its own. The profile shifts probabilities rather than settling them, and some prostate cancers raise PSA very little. Ejaculation, vigorous cycling, a rectal examination, catheterisation, a recent biopsy, prostatitis or a urinary infection can disturb every component, and finasteride, dutasteride and testosterone therapy change how the figures must be read. Your doctor reads the profile with your examination, symptoms and history.
Medically reviewed by Dr Nirupama Sabhapathy
This test is reported descriptively rather than on a numeric scale: each finding below explains what your report may say.
This panel reports total PSA, free PSA and the free-to-total ratio, used together to assess prostate health. See your detailed report.
Ranges are a guide: your physician interprets your result alongside your symptoms and history.
What a higher result can point to
- Benign prostatic hyperplasia, the commonest reason for a raised total in older men.
- Prostatitis or a urinary tract infection, which can lift the measurements sharply and temporarily.
- Prostate cancer, which is the possibility the profile is designed to help weigh.
- Recent ejaculation, cycling, a rectal examination, catheterisation or a prostate biopsy.
- Urinary retention or other instrumentation of the urinary tract.
These are possibilities, not diagnoses. A single value outside the reference range is interpreted alongside your symptoms, history and other tests: your doctor decides what it means for you.
What this test cannot tell you
- The profile shifts probabilities; it cannot diagnose or exclude prostate cancer, which still requires tissue, and a raised total is not by itself evidence of cancer.
- Some prostate cancers, including a few aggressive ones, do not raise PSA appreciably, so an unremarkable profile is reassuring rather than conclusive.
- Finasteride, dutasteride and testosterone therapy alter the measurements and must be taken into account when reading them.
- The free component degrades in the sample more readily than the total, so the comparison depends on prompt and consistent handling.
Risks of the blood draw
- Mild bruising or brief soreness where the needle went in.
- Occasional lightheadedness, which settles after a few minutes of rest.
- Bleeding or infection at the site, which is rare with sterile single-use equipment.
- 1The profile reports total PSA, free PSA and the relationship between them from a single sample.
- 2A raised total is common and usually has a benign explanation; the free component helps judge how likely that is.
- 3A low PSA result is the expected finding and requires no action of its own.
- 4Recent prostate manipulation, infection or hard cycling can distort every component.
- 5Whether to test at all when you have no symptoms is an informed choice to make with your doctor, weighing early detection against investigation and treatment you might not have needed.
- Tumour MarkersProstate Specific Antigen (PSA), Total
Total PSA measures the amount of prostate-specific antigen in blood. Elevated levels may indicate prostate cancer, benign prostate enlargement, or…
80View - Tumour MarkersProstate Specific Antigen (PSA), Free
Free PSA measures the unbound form of prostate-specific antigen. The ratio of free to total PSA helps distinguish prostate cancer from benign…
99View - Hormones & FertilityTestosterone, Total
Total testosterone measures all testosterone in your blood: free, albumin-bound, and SHBG-bound. It is the primary test for evaluating male…
65View - Urine StudiesUrine Analysis
A routine urinalysis examines the colour, clarity, pH, and chemical composition of urine along with microscopic sediment. It screens for urinary…
35View
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA), Profile test. Can't find what you're looking for?
Talk to our team→The free-to-total relationship helps judge how likely a raised total is to have a benign explanation. In general, a higher free share leans towards benign enlargement, while a lower free share raises the probability of cancer and makes further assessment more likely. It shifts probabilities rather than settling them, and your doctor reads it with your examination, symptoms and history.
Benign prostatic hyperplasia is the commonest reason for a raised total in older men. Prostatitis or a urinary infection can lift it sharply and temporarily, and so can recent ejaculation, vigorous cycling, a rectal examination, catheterisation, urinary retention or a prostate biopsy. That is why an unexpected result is often repeated once these temporary causes have been removed.
The profile is commonly recommended for men over 50, or over 40 with risk factors. Testing when you have no symptoms is an informed choice to make with your doctor, weighing earlier detection against investigation and treatment you might not have needed. If you decide to test, using the same laboratory and preparation each time makes changes over the years meaningful.
Yes. Finasteride, dutasteride and testosterone therapy all alter PSA measurements, so the figures have to be read differently when you take them. Tell the laboratory about these and any herbal prostate supplements, and do not stop a prescribed medicine to prepare for the test. Your doctor accounts for the treatment when interpreting the profile.
Not automatically. A raised total is common and usually benign, and the profile can only shift the probability of cancer, which still requires tissue to diagnose. Your doctor often repeats the test after removing temporary causes such as infection or recent cycling, and a urologist decides on any biopsy from the whole picture, including the examination.
The total tells you how much enzyme is present, not what kind of prostate tissue is releasing it. The unbound fraction adds that second dimension, and together the two separate benign enlargement from cancer better than the total does alone.
That combination often leads to watchful repeat testing rather than an immediate biopsy, sometimes with an MRI in between. Your urologist decides from the whole picture, including the examination and the size of the gland.
Yes, though it is less likely. A minority of tumours release little PSA, so persistent symptoms or an abnormal examination are investigated regardless of what the blood result shows.
That depends on your age, your risk factors and what the first result showed, so your doctor sets the interval. Consistency matters more than frequency: the same laboratory and the same preparation each time, so that any change over the years is real.
No. No fasting is required. Abstain from ejaculation for about two days beforehand and avoid long cycle rides or horse riding over the same period, and have the blood drawn before any rectal examination.
The PSA profile test is AED 150, including a physician-reviewed report, with results usually within 2 to 3 days. Home collection anywhere in Dubai is free when your order reaches AED 300 or includes a package; below that, a AED 100 home collection fee applies (AED 50 for a lab walk-in).