Atypical prostate test results.

Have you had pet scan?

Further thought my mri was shady and inconclusive petscan lit up like flash light. Also took antibiotic series to debunk prostratitis. You have seemingly large prostrate volume. Drs told me enlarged prostrates make more psa. Keep testing.

No. He may suggest that when I see him in Jan.

jbmck, The 3+3=6 would not indicate an active cancer. It is the lowest on the Gleason score. However biopsies only are good for the areas the biopsies are taken. From your post you do have lesions so the concern.

Are you having symptoms of prostratis and enlarged prostrate? Are you seeing a urologist? The PSMA (Pet Scan) is a good test to help see areas in and out of prostrate that may have cancer. The DECIPER test is a genetic which can give accurate genetic test of the biopsies taken and give a risk factor.

The only thing I would mention is my urologist/radiologist treated my entire prostrate not just the areas found with cancer. This was because some areas can be missed that may have cancer so treat all.

You sure have a unique case and agree with billfarm keeps testing.

Sorry. The editor here was acting hinky and kept dropping my detailed posts. The biopsy was a MRI targeted biopsy so the entire prostate was scanned. That was 3 lesions. Biopsy showed 2 indeterminate and one Gleason 3+3. Subsequent MRI (about a year later) showed nothing (No PI-RADS >= 3). And that's the question. All problems seem to have vanished except the PSA is way up. Doctor is a bit confused.

yes every 3 months

jbmck, I can see on your original post you did mentioned intermediate cancer found on biopsies but did not list the numbers. That is what I saw only the numbers for the 3+3=6Thanks for feedback. So you had 2 biopsies classified as indeterminate and one at the 3+3=6.

I had one biopsy at 3+4=7 and all the others were 3+3=6. When I had my proton pencil beam therapy they did the whole prostrate and margins. This (explained to me) was to treat any area not found during the biopsy which can happen a lot and thus still have active cancer in the prostrate.

Did you have the PSMA test. This would have looked at entire body to see if the cancer had spread to other areas of body and could explain increasing PSA. Keep asking questions and asked about the PSMA and bone scan. The prostrate and prostrate cancer is the only things that make PSA so a high number would indicate inflammation/infections in prostrate or cancer that was missed.
Good luck, it was my oversight that did not see the intermediate biopsies you listed.

Thanks for your response but I need to correct one thing in your post for others reading this. Prostate cancer is definitely not the only thing that raises PSA. This is from 6 of my doctors over 15 years, 3 GP's and 3 urologists respectively. In addition, the literature on this is robust. UTI's are the best understood cause for this elevation but there are other "suspects" as well. PSA usually has an "idle" setting in most men, particularly men over 50. Large prostates often, even usually, produce more PSA. It is exactly because of the often random behavior of PSA levels that further testing is required.

Not sure what you are referring to. I have never said in any posts that PSA numbers or rising ones are only caused by cancer only. PSA levels can be raised by many prostrate issues as well as cancer. Only the prostrate and prostrate cancer cells generate PSA. If you do not have a prostrate anymore your PSA should be undetectable and if not indicator of prostrate cancer cells still in body.

Prostrate irritations, injuries, infections, bide riding, can cause PSA to rise. This is what I hoped for when I had raising PSA numbers over several years. When I had rising PSA levels my Mayo PCP and I thought it was from long bike rides (25 miles) making the PSA levels to rise. I have posted this many times in my personal experience with my journey of my rising PSA levels, my diagnosis, and treatment/recovery from prostrate cancer.

My PCP had me to do a PSA test where I did not ride bike for 10 days prior to PSA test and there was still a rise. So something was going on other than bike riding (a common item that can raise PSA) that we needed to find out what was causing the continued rising. That is when I was referred to Mayo Urologist who did MRI, then biopsies confirming I had prostrate cancer worse was 3+4=7. This diagnosis was even though my PSA was still within normal range 3.75 (below 4.0 is still normal).

It is true if you have had your prostrate removed your PSA should not be rising and at level of undetectable. Again from my Mayo PCP, urologist at Mayo Clinic, and urologist/oncologist at UFPTI, PSA is made only in the prostrate and prostrate cancer cells. PSA numbers can rise and a common occurrence from non cancer causes like irritations, injuries, infections not just from prostrate cancer.

A rising PSA number after the prostrate has been removed is of great concern. It is an indicator prostrate cancer cells have spread outside the prostrate and are still growing.

When I have my PSA test done now every 3 months I am told not to do any bike riding for a week and no vigorous sex just prior to test. Not sure what the latter is all about. I had not heard that before but did not ask specifics.

I too had though Prostate *Specific* Antigen was only made by prostate cells (including cancerous ones.) Apparently not - but only in very small amounts:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0094014305703736