Fast PSA Rise Implies Bad Prostate Cancer

Men whose PSA count goes up 2 ng/mL or more in one year are
at high risk of dying of prostate cancer despite treatment.

The finding, by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researcher Anthony V. D'Amico
and colleagues, comes from a study of 948 men who underwent surgery or
external-beam radiation therapy for prostate cancer.

At the time of treatment, all of the men had localized prostate cancer --
that is, their doctors could not detect cancer outside their prostate
glands.

Among the 660 men who chose radical prostatectomy -- surgical removal of the
prostate -- there were 89 deaths within a median 5.4 years. Prostate cancer
caused 29 of these deaths. In 44% of these prostate-cancer deaths, the only
sign of high-risk disease was a PSA rise of at least 2 ng/mL in the year before
treatment.

Among the 288 men who chose external-beam radiation treatment, there were 75
deaths within a median four years. Prostate cancer caused 32 of these deaths.
In 28% of these prostate cancer deaths, the only sign of high-risk disease was
a PSA rise of at least 2 ng/mL in the year before treatment.

Other clues that a man is at increased risk of dying from prostate cancer
are tumors with a score of 7 or more on the Gleason tumor aggressiveness score;
clinical disease that has advanced to the T2b stage; and a PSA level of greater
than 10 ng/mL.

But none of these signs was as powerful as what D'Amico and colleagues call
"PSA velocity."

When men had just one sign of severe cancer, that sign was PSA velocity for
88% of patients treated with surgery and in 80% of patients treated with
external-beam radiation therapy.

D'Amico and colleagues advise men who have this kind of rapid PSA rise to
enroll in clinical trials testing more intensive prostate cancer treatment.

There's some evidence that taking testosterone-blocking drugs in addition to
surgery or radiation can improve prostate cancer survival in these men. There's
also evidence that adding chemotherapy to surgery or radiation can prolong
prostate cancer survival.

The findings appear in the July 1 issue of the American Cancer Society
journal Cancer.

By Daniel DeNoon
Reviewed by Louise Chang
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