A smarter way to track prostate cancer

4 days ago | Liz Waugh, Patient Educator | @lizwaugh | Comments (1)

Discover how the Prostate Cancer Control Tower uses AI to monitor PSA results, reduce uncertainty, and support personalized cancer follow-up care.

Article written in collaboration with Dr. Mark Waddle, M.D.

Finishing treatment for prostate cancer is a major milestone. For many patients, it's not the end of the journey. Ongoing monitoring is an important part of staying healthy. For prostate cancer, this usually involves regular PSA tests (a simple blood test that helps show whether prostate cancer may be active).

While this sounds simple, it can sometimes bring uncertainty or anxiety. Patients often ask:

Is my PSA normal?
Do I need to worry?
When should I act?

At the same time, doctors manage thousands of patients who all need long-term follow-up—sometimes for more than 10 years.

To help solve this, Mayo Clinic is developing a new tool called the Prostate Cancer Control Tower.

What is the Control Tower?

The Control Tower is a smart system that tracks your PSA results over time and helps make sense of them.

It uses artificial intelligence (AI) [computer programs that learn from data] to look at your personal history—your treatment, your past PSA levels, and how those levels change over time.

Instead of looking at one number at a time, it looks at the pattern.

How can this help patients?

This approach can make follow-up care simpler, faster, and more personalized.

With the Control Tower:

Your PSA results are reviewed automatically.
You receive updates when things look normal.
Your care team is alerted earlier if something looks concerning.

This can mean less waiting, fewer surprises, and more peace of mind between visits.

In many cases, patients may also avoid unnecessary clinic visits, while still being closely monitored.

Why is this important?

Prostate cancer often grows slowly, but when it comes back, catching it early matters.

Traditional methods rely on fixed thresholds (specific PSA numbers). The Control Tower goes beyond that by learning your unique pattern. This can help detect changes earlier, anywhere from a few months up to several years earlier, and more accurately.

Just as important, it helps patients feel more informed and connected to their care.

Looking ahead

In the future, this tool may be available not just at Mayo Clinic. Researchers are working to make this tool more widely available, using a secure, patient-facing app.

This means you could:

Upload your PSA results.
See your personalized risk.
Know when to follow up.

All from home.

What does this mean for you?

Cancer care is changing. Tools like the Control Tower are designed to support—not replace—your care team, while giving you clearer, faster answers. It does not replace your doctor; it gives your care team better information, faster.

Inspiration

How would it change your experience if you could better understand your PSA results in real time?

Here is a video of the Control Tower delivered at the VIBE Summit by our AI Scientist Andrew Foong, PhD: PSA Control Tower | Mayo Clinic VIBE Summit 2025

Want to learn more?