PSA jump from 1.5 to 8.5 in 12 months

Yes, and after antibiotics it went down to 1.4 again. PSA can be caused by prostate inflammation or cancer. It would be a very aggressive cancer to increase that much in a year, but it is possible. The 6-10 range is where inflammation usually lands. If DRE is not positive should rule out other causes for an increase before doing a biopsy.

That’s a pretty quick rise in that PSA, unless he has BPH or a huge prostate an MRI would make a lot of sense. That way you can see if there’s anything visibly available to do a biopsy with.

Cancer is very slow growing, so don’t get too upset about this. It is very treatable and becomes a chronic disease for most people.

Hopefully it’s just BPH or an infection; but the sudden pre-diabetes state does seem important.
Diabetes, inflammation and PSA scores can all be part of the same thing sometimes.
Of course, prostate cancer must be ruled out by diagnostic means: PSE test, MRI, biopsy if necessary…
But don’t neglect the prediabetes; it’s not simply a diagnosis, it’s an alarm bell that something is ‘off’ in the body. Some forum members have brought their PSA way down with lifestyle changes, diet, exercise…even if they were already fit and in good shape. PSA is not as ‘prostate specific’ as we think it is, although its value cannot be dismissed.
Phil

I am very active at 74. 3 years ago diagnosed as pre-diabetic. I think the normal upper limit for A1C is 5.6. Mine runs 5.6 - 6.0. It can be helped by diet. My last test in Jan was 5.8. I am convinced as you age its pretty common to be considered pre-diabetic. Just like an increase in blood pressure also seems to be pretty common. As Phil has mentioned its important to keep an eye on it. Make lifestyle changes.

@tuckerp
The A1c seems to be completely controllable with the correct diet, For people like us. I found my problem that led me to a 5.9 was eating too much ice cream at night. Stopped that and have a small piece of cake or a couple of cookies instead. My A1c has been 5.6 or lower For at least 6 years now. It was only above 5.6 for a few tests.

I was probably 72 when I hit the 5.9 I am 78 now.

Take a careful look at what you eat that can make a major difference.

It is good to get the high PSA checked out though I am surprised you are being seen by an oncologist at this point. It would be normal to have an MRI followed by a biopsy if the MRI showed anything suspicious as next steps.

Another excellent next step right now would be have one of the newer tests such as the IsoPSA or ExoDX test run. These do a better job of indicating the presence of treatable prostate cancer than the PSA test does, and they are not expensive. If one of those or a similar test indicates a high probability of prostate cancer than the next steps of an MRI and biopsy are helpful for diagnosis.

As others have noted, an infection can also cause a rapid rise in PSA level and a month of antibiotics may also be a very good next step.

@rider51

I think the reason we are going straight to the U. Oncologist is because of his brothers aggressive cancer diagnosed at stage 4 and he died 8 months after. It was discovered by Cologuard but by the time it was discovered it had spread to other organs so they are not really sure of the location it started.
We are seeing his PA first and only if it's cancer do we progress to him but it is nice to have him prepped and ready just in case.

@houstonringing
A GU Oncologist Will work with you if you have an aggressive cancer case. It’s one of the mill with no aggressive issues than they will not usually work with you.

my PSA took a similar jump about 6 months ago from around 1 to 8.4. My urologist immediately suspected prostatitis. I was told my prostate cancer (Gleason 6) would not rise that fast in less than one year. I was put on antibiotics and was retested in about 2 months. My PSA came back down to normal. I really did not have any symptoms when I had this prostatitis so the PSA test was how it was discovered. I will say a prayer something similar is the cause for your husband's rise.

Lots of things could make a PSA jump rapidly. Mine went up to 4.6 at my Dec physical. Normally under 1. Had it tested again in March and it's back to 1.1. Hopefully it was from a physical activity, lifting, biking, long trip sitting, etc.