Treatment FAQ

what should psa be after radiation treatment?

by Carlie Altenwerth Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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Recent studies have shown that for optimal results, PSA levels should be lower than 1 ng/ml, and even lower than 0.5 ng/ml. Levels that are above 1 or 2 ng/ml 12 to 18 months following completion of radiation treatments are very worrisome, because they indicate that the cancer may not have been eradicated.Mar 31, 2009

Full Answer

What to do about a rising PSA after radiation?

What to Ask When Your PSA Is Rising After Initial Treatment

  • What does it mean that my PSA level is rising again?
  • What is my PSA level now, and how will we monitor changes over time?
  • Can we (should we) chart the velocity or doubling time of my PSA? ...
  • Am I a candidate for local “salvage” prostatectomy or radiation? ...
  • Should I get a bone scan to see if the cancer has spread to my bones?

More items...

What should a PSA level be after prostate cancer surgery?

  • Transrectal ultrasound and prostate biopsies.
  • Prostate MRI.
  • Iso PSA or 4Kscore® .

What is a good PSA level after prostate removal?

  • stopping smoking or using tobacco products
  • exercising regularly
  • eating a healthful diet, with plenty of fruits and vegetables
  • limiting alcohol intake to a moderate amount

Does a high PSA indicate prostate cancer?

Elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels can be a sign of prostate cancer. It can also indicate noncancerous problems such as prostate enlargement and inflammation. Your healthcare provider will work with you to figure out the next steps if you have a high PSA level. What is a prostate-specific antigen (PSA)?

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What should PSA levels be 3 months after radiation?

Patients were characterized by 3-month post-RT PSA values: <0.10 ng/mL, 0.10 to 0.49 ng/mL, and ≥0.50 ng/mL. The researchers found that a higher 3-month PSA level was strongly associated with biochemical progression-free survival (bPFS), prostate cancer-specific survival (PCSS), and overall survival (OS).

How long does it take for PSA to drop after radiation?

After radiotherapy or brachytherapy, your PSA should drop to its lowest level (nadir) after 18 months to two years. Your PSA level won't fall to zero as your healthy prostate cells will continue to produce some PSA. Your PSA level may actually rise after radiotherapy treatment, and then fall again.

What should PSA be 6 months after radiation?

The median PSA 6 months after EBRT was 0.1 ng/mL (range, 0-19 ng/mL), and 310 patients (58.3%) had a 6-month PSA ≤0.1 ng/mL. Multivariable analysis (MVA) demonstrated that a 6-month post-EBRT PSA of >0.1 ng/mL was an independent predictor of worse bRFS (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.518; P<. 0001), DMFS (HR=3.743; P<.

What are the chances of prostate cancer returning after radiation?

And a study comparing the outcomes of 393 men who received different doses of external beam radiation therapy for prostate cancer, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that 19.6% of those who underwent high-dose radiation therapy experienced biochemical recurrence within five years, while ...

Can PSA levels fluctuate after radiation?

After radiation therapy The remaining normal prostate cells will still make some PSA. The pattern of the drop in PSA after radiation therapy is also different from after surgery. PSA levels after radiation tend to drop slowly, and might not reach their lowest level until 2 years or more after treatment.

Does radiation treatment affect PSA levels?

If you've had radiation therapy, your PSA will likely not drop to zero, as there is some normal, healthy prostate tissue that remains after treatment. Instead, there is a different low PSA level for each patient, called a nadir. The most widely accepted definition is a PSA that has risen from nadir by 2 ng/mL or more.

What is the average PSA for a 70 year old?

3.5-4.5: Normal for a man 60-70 yrs. 4.5-5.5: Normal for a man 70-80 yrs.

What PSA indicates metastasis?

Conclusions: Serum PSA < 20 ng/ml have high predictive value in ruling out skeletal metastasis.

What is PSA bounce after radiation?

Listen to pronunciation. (… bownts) A brief rise and then fall in the blood level of PSA (prostate-specific antigen) that occurs in some patients 1-3 years after receiving radiation treatment for prostate cancer.

What is the success rate of radiation therapy for prostate cancer?

Radiation Therapy: Effective for Prostate Cancer Men with localised prostate cancer who are treated with external-beam radiation therapy have a cure rate of 95.5% for intermediate-risk prostate cancer and 91.3% for high-risk prostate cancer. The 5-year survival rate using this treatment is 98.8% overall.

How often does prostate cancer recur after radiation?

“In recent years, [for the] 30-40 percent of patients who elect radiation therapy, the cancer will recur,” noted Madi, who is Director of Urologic Oncology and Robotic Surgery at the Medical Center at Augusta University, as well as Professor in the Division of Urology.

How do you tell if your cancer is gone?

How Do You Know You're in Remission? Tests look for cancer cells in your blood. Scans like X-rays and MRIs show if your tumor is smaller or if it's gone after surgery and isn't growing back. To qualify as remission, your tumor either doesn't grow back or stays the same size for a month after you finish treatments.

How often do doctors measure PSA?

After radiation treatment, doctors typically measure the PSA level every three months in a patient for the first year, and every six months thereafter. During the first year or two, patients normally experience a decline in their PSA blood test score.

Can a rising PSA level predict cancer?

But can a rising or falling PSA (prostate-specific antigen) level after radiation treatment predict whether the cancer will return? According to a study published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology/Biology/Physics (March 16, 2006), the answer is yes: The longer period of PSA fall and lower PSA nadir predicts a higher chance ...

What is PSA after radiation?

PSA After Radiation for Prostate Cancer. The introduction of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) as a reliabletumor marker for prostate cancer brought significant changes in theend points used for outcome reporting after therapy. With regard to adefinition of failure after radiation, a consensus was reached in 1996that took into account ...

When did prostate specific antigens start being used?

History When prostate-specific antigen (PSA) first came into clinical use inthe mid- to late 1980s, there was greatenthusiasm for its use in screeningand in the follow-up of prostate cancerafter therapy.

How long does it take for a PSA to drop after SRT?

So if your PSA was taking 6 months to split and double, then it could take approximately 6 months for the cell to die off and stop producing PSA. Basically the longer the doubling time the longer it takes for the PSA to drop after SRT. FWIW...my PSA dropped after 6 weeks from .44 to .16 after SRT.

Is a PSA of 4 ok?

Although .4 is not a great number, your PSA trend is ok. Radiation keeps working for many months after treatments have ended. If you don't currently exercise, I would strongly encourage it. Your body is the best cancer fighter, and having it in top shape is crucial.

How long after radiation therapy can you have prostate cancer?

Prostate cancer patients who have a prostate-specific antigen value of less than or equal to 1.5 at two years after external beam radiation therapy are less likely to have a cancer recurrence and cancer-related death, according to a new study.

How long does it take for PSA to drop after EBRT?

PSA levels in a prostate cancer patient are monitored after a patient's treatments, and after a successful course of EBRT the levels should decline gradually over the following 18 to 24 months. A continued rise in PSA can indicate relapsing disease.

Can you use a fixed point after PSA treatment?

Prior studies have attempted to categorize PSA response patterns after treatment in an effort to identify patients with an increased chance of a relapse earlier; however, most did not use a fixed point after treatment to predict outcomes.

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