Análise do marcador tumoral antígeno prostático específico (psa) no diagnóstico do câncer de próstata: explorando desigualdades socioeconômicas e demográficas no acesso à detecção precoce

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Malignant neoplasia of the prostate is considered a serious health problem in Brazil, considered an important cause of death in several countries. It is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men, surpassed only by lung cancer. For the diagnosis of prostate cancer (PSA) a clinical examination (rectal examination) and measurement of prostate specific antigen (PSA) are recommended. PSA is a frequently used tumor marker for PSA screening. OBJECTIVE: to report the importance of Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) in the diagnosis of prostate cancer, evaluating its effectiveness as a tumor marker and, simultaneously, investigating the socioeconomic and demographic inequalities that influence access to this test. METHODOLOGY: This is an integrative review study. The search was carried out in the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SCIELO) and Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences (LILACS) databases. Using the following descriptors: Prostate cancer. PSA. Diagnosis. Social differences. RESULTS: It was found that prostate specific antigen (PSA) is an important tumor marker for the detection and monitoring of prostate malignancy. And despite the controversies regarding the effectiveness of PSA dosing in detecting cancer, a significant portion of the male population has been undergoing these tests. PSA, despite being the reason for several controversies, has enabled improvements in the investigation and diagnosis of PSA, providing the male population with the opportunity to discover and treat the aforementioned pathology. PSA associated with clinical rectal examination has demonstrated competence in this segment of major prostate neplasias. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: It is concluded that although diagnosis using the PSA tumor marker divides the opinion of specialists and scholars, its performance has shown effectiveness and resulting in improvements for those affected by the disease. However, given the difficulties of access, a large part of this population has suffered socioeconomic and sociodemographic inequalities in terms of access. Therefore, many things need to be improved for comprehensive men's health care, and to achieve this, professional health managers must work in an articulated manner to change this reality, especially for the neediest segments, reducing prevalent inequalities.