September 10, 2026
Read time: ~4 minutes

Every September, Prostate Cancer Awareness Month brings attention to a disease that quietly affects millions of men. For clinics and diagnostic laboratories that serve patients outside the United States, September is also a good moment to consider tools, such as rapid PSA testing at the point of care that make earlier detection possible.

A Common Cancer That Often Hides in Plain Sight

Prostate cancer is not a niche health concern. It is one of the most significant types of cancer that men face globally.

• Prostate cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in men worldwide. The latest global cancer statistics from the American Cancer Society and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the WHO’s cancer research arm, put the outlook at an estimated 1.5 million new cases and 420,000 deaths.
• According to the European Association of Urology (EAU) Guidelines on Prostate Cancer, prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in men across more than half the countries in the world, and it is the leading cause of male cancer death in a quarter of them.
• Mortality is disproportionately higher in regions such as the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa, where access to screening and treatment stays limited.
• The World Cancer Research Fund reports that prostate cancer accounted for nearly 1.47 million new cases globally in a single recent year, making it the fourth most common cancer overall, across both sexes.

Prostate cancer is especially dangerous due to how quietly it develops. In its early stages, it typically causes no noticeable symptoms. Without routine screening, many men aren’t diagnosed until the disease has progressed, and by then treatment becomes more complex and outcomes less favorable.

The lack of routine screening creates a real, measurable gap: the disease is common, but early detection tools aren’t always accessible where and when they’re needed, particularly in clinics and regions without immediate access to centralized laboratory testing.

The Case for Rapid Point-of-Care PSA Testing

One of the most established tools for early detection is the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, a blood test that measures PSA, a protein produced by the prostate gland. Elevated PSA levels can be an early signal that calls for further evaluation. PSA testing, often alongside a physical exam, stays a cornerstone of prostate cancer screening protocols worldwide.

It’s worth noting that a PSA test alone doesn’t diagnose cancer. An elevated result is a signal for further clinical evaluation, not a standalone diagnosis. That’s exactly why a fast, reliable early screening matters: the sooner a provider has that information, the sooner a patient can move forward with the best next steps.

Rapid PSA testing can be a much-needed tool in the diagnostic pathway. Rather than waiting on a centralized lab, clinics equipped with point-of-care PSA testing can generate results during the same visit, reducing delays, follow-up no-shows, and lost time in the diagnostic pathway.

Healgen’s Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) Rapid Test

Healgen’s Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) Rapid Test is a rapid chromatographic immunoassay designed for the qualitative detection of PSA in human serum, plasma, or whole blood. It’s ideal for point-of-care facilities that need reliable answers quickly.

Key benefits:

• Fast results: results in as little as 10 minutes
• High performance: 98.7% sensitivity and 98.5% specificity
• Multiple sample type options: whole blood, serum, or plasma
• Simple interpretation: two-band result format
• Convenient storage: stable at room temperature or refrigerated (2–30°C)
• Complete kits: internal controls and reagents included
• Long shelf life: 24-month expiration from date of manufacture

The test is available in strip and cassette formats, including a semi-quantitative option with 4 ng/mL and 10 ng/mL cutoffs, giving clinics flexibility based on their screening protocols and patient volume.

Note: Healgen’s PSA Rapid Test is CE marked and available for clinics, laboratories, and distributors outside the United States (OUS). It is not currently available for sale within the US.

Turning Awareness into Action

Prostate Cancer Awareness Month is a call to action, not just for patients to talk to their doctors, but for the healthcare facilities and distributors who make screening accessible in the first place. Reliable, rapid PSA testing helps close the gap between awareness and early detection, especially in regions where centralized laboratory turnaround times can delay care.

If you’re a clinic, laboratory, or distributor outside the US interested in adding rapid PSA testing to your diagnostic offerings, contact Healgen to learn more about the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) Rapid Test and the rest of Healgen’s oncology testing portfolio.