← Return to PSA increase from .01 to .06 Should I be concerned?

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PSA increase from .01 to .06 Should I be concerned?

Prostate Cancer | Last Active: Oct 11, 2025 | Replies (10)

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Profile picture for jeffreyg @jeffreyg

Reading through the comments, I'm wondering if everyone is getting the decimal point in the correct place. It's confusing for me at my current stage.
I'm postprostatectomy, (10/5/17), and undetectable for 6 years, then < 0.2 in 2023 with no action taken, then 0.3 in 2024. In 9/2025 PSA was at 16.4, and then 10/2025 was at 18.6. PSMA PET showed multiple locations in lymph nodes in region. I started Eligard 9/17/25 and as of 10/9/25 PSA was 3.6
I'm encouraged and meeting with MD Monday, 10/13/25. I know I've got my decimals in the right places, but wonder if ADT actually brings patient down as low as 0.01 ?

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Replies to "Reading through the comments, I'm wondering if everyone is getting the decimal point in the correct..."

@jeffreyg
Yes, ADT alone can Bring some patients PSA down to .01. It doesn’t happen for everybody, but it is pretty common for lower level PC (Gleason 7 and even 8).

After having a proctectomy, my PSA started rising 3 1/2 years later. When it hit .2 my doctors had me on radiation two months after giving me a six month Lupron shot.

The standard is that you should get treatment at .2.

Here is the standard that is set for when you should have been treated

From Ascopubs about what PSA to do salvage radiation.
≤0.2 ng/mL:
Starting at this level maximizes disease control and long-term survival. Patients treated at PSA < 0.2 ng/mL achieve higher rates of undetectable post-SRT PSA (56-70%) and improved 5-year progression-free survival (62.7-75%).
Delaying SRT beyond PSA ≥0.25 ng/mL increases mortality risk by ~50%.

0.2–0.5 ng/mL:
Still effective, particularly for patients with low-risk features (e.g., Gleason ≤7, slow PSA doubling time). The Journal of Clinical Oncology recommends SRT before PSA exceeds 0.25 ng/mL to preserve curative potential.

0.5–1.0 ng/mL:
Salvage radiation remains beneficial but may require combining with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for higher-risk cases.

You have been grossly untreated. The doctors you’re working with are not treating you with what is considered the standard of care. Your solution to go to MD Anderson Is a good answer. Hopefully your cancer has not spread too much and they can still treat it effectively. You should have been treated in 2023 if you had competent doctors.