PSA Nadir is main deciding factor when one can start on Intermittent H

Posted by ava11 @ava11, 1 day ago

I have been on orgovyx from April 1st,2024(11months). I had SBRT 5 sessions started on April 8th and finished on April 18th.
My PSA on October 7, 2024 was 0.06
PSA on Feb 27,2025 is 0.03 (50% reduction in about 4 months)

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Prostate Cancer Support Group.

The length of time you stay on ADT (Orgovyx) is pretty dependent on your Gleason score.

If you were Gleason 8 then 18 months is recommended. If you are a Gleason nine or 10, then 24 months is recommended. Gleason 7 then 6 months.

You’ve been on Orgovyx Longer than someone with a Gleason seven would need to be on it. You can discuss this with your doctor. Some doctors let people stop ADT if they’ve been Undetectable for a long time and didn’t have other issues that could cause reoccurrence.

Did you have a decipher score? That could also be a factor in deciding how long you should take ADT.

REPLY
@jeffmarc

The length of time you stay on ADT (Orgovyx) is pretty dependent on your Gleason score.

If you were Gleason 8 then 18 months is recommended. If you are a Gleason nine or 10, then 24 months is recommended. Gleason 7 then 6 months.

You’ve been on Orgovyx Longer than someone with a Gleason seven would need to be on it. You can discuss this with your doctor. Some doctors let people stop ADT if they’ve been Undetectable for a long time and didn’t have other issues that could cause reoccurrence.

Did you have a decipher score? That could also be a factor in deciding how long you should take ADT.

Jump to this post

I was Gleason 9(4+5) and decipher score 0.98
My Radiation oncologist (Amar Kishan) says 1 year, my oncologist at UCI says 18 months, but Dr Scholz of PCRI says, I should take a holiday from ADT, as I get very little benefit by continuing on ADT, sacrificing quality of life. Dr Scholz told me that I can stop when I was on ADT for only 9 months and PSA was 0.06. My oncologist at UCI says even if my PSA is ZERO, I should stay on ADT for 18 months, if I can tolerate it. He says cancer cells are not dead; they are just sleeping and can wake up when you stop ADT too early. Dr Scholz says, I go back on ADT if that happens.
I am getting an MRI on April 8th, per Dr Kishan's recommendation.
For now, I will stay on ADT. I will post it here my MRI results.

REPLY

Dr. Scholz has told many people that have come to him and then reported in meetings to Stop ADT. He is pretty aggressive. NCCN guidelines say you should be on it for 24 months so even 18 is fewer than the guidelines suggest. With your high decipher Score and a Gleason nine you’ve gotta be careful. If you do stop ADT, make sure to get PSA tested at least every three months.

In some cases, with the Gleeson nine, the cancer can spread a lot if you stop the treatments. With other people, it ends up being very slow growing or doesn’t come back for a long time. Of course they don’t differentiate decipher scores when I hear about this. Some of the long timers weren’t tested because decipher was not available.

REPLY
@jeffmarc

Dr. Scholz has told many people that have come to him and then reported in meetings to Stop ADT. He is pretty aggressive. NCCN guidelines say you should be on it for 24 months so even 18 is fewer than the guidelines suggest. With your high decipher Score and a Gleason nine you’ve gotta be careful. If you do stop ADT, make sure to get PSA tested at least every three months.

In some cases, with the Gleeson nine, the cancer can spread a lot if you stop the treatments. With other people, it ends up being very slow growing or doesn’t come back for a long time. Of course they don’t differentiate decipher scores when I hear about this. Some of the long timers weren’t tested because decipher was not available.

Jump to this post

Thank you, Jeff. It looks like Dr Scholz follows latest trials more closely. A friend of mine who is a radiation oncologist that treats Breast cancer, told me but not prostate cancer told me when I ran into her at a party told me when I asked her about NCCN guidelines in light of Dr. Scholz's recommendation that it takes time for the guidelines to change as it requires agreement of all the participating institutions.
Yes, Dr Scholz told me about regular PSA check and if it reaches certain threshold, I need to get a pet scan also.
My oncologist at UCI told me that UCI is running a trial being on ADT for 12 months vs 18 months.
For all of us there is no one perfect pathway going forward! It looks like we have to take our chances ultimately and hope for the best!

REPLY
Please sign in or register to post a reply.