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Any other methods Better than PSA to monitor prostate cancer?

Prostate Cancer | Last Active: Dec 12, 2023 | Replies (35)
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@trusam1

I'm confident your radiation oncologist will tell you how PSA is the best way to detect an early return of prostate cancer after treatment.

Think about this...imaging studies operate at the macroscopic level, not microscopic. MRI, CT. PET, US, X-ray...all use reflections of some sort of energy (magnetic, radiation, sound) interpreted by a computer to produce simulated images which are fuzzy and certainly not able to discern structural differences smaller than our own eyes can distinguish. The PSA test operates at the molecular level. If it rise and keeps rising after treatment, the only question is where, not if, the Prostate Specific Antigen is being produced.

The difficulty for post-radiation patients lies in the continued presence of the prostate. That's when imaging studies may come into play.

Game plan in that case: follow the PSA frequently (every 3-6 months). If it keeps rising, investigate further with imaging.

Using the PSA to initially diagnose cancer, and using it to follow progress after treatment are two different ball games. Do not neglect it!

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Replies to "I'm confident your radiation oncologist will tell you how PSA is the best way to detect..."
seasuite | @seasuite | Dec 9, 2023

Thanks @trusam1
No question about following PSA levels post radiation and ADT. I am a big fan of preventative medicine, testing and avoiding drugs. Prior to starting Orgovyx (4 months) and Flomax, my systems had been free of any pharmaceuticals for many years, unless you count grape byproducts.

I had consulted a couple well published ROs on how to best monitor post treatment biochemical recurrence and actually found the comment from @wrothrock more insightful. He mentioned the differentiation in reliability of pre and post treatment PSA reading as a metric for recurrence. I'm planning to review the link that he kindly provided for the PCRI. However, what I am still missing is research and reports that provide an in depth verification of what is likely the most important question that all of us have: do I still have any remaining cancer? There are some reports to be found questioning PSA reliability, post treatment, such as the UCLA study: https://www.uclahealth.org/news/psa-levels-after-treatment-may-not-be-reliable-predictor.

As someone nearing the end of treatments, my investigation continues.

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