WEDNESDAY, July 26 (HealthDay News) -- Most urologists agree that rising prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels are important in making follow-up decisions in patients with localized prostate cancer, according to a study published in the July issue of Urology.
David Penson, M.D., of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and colleagues surveyed 300 urologists.
The researchers found that 78 percent considered absolute PSA levels of high or very high importance in making follow-up decisions, 83 percent used the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology definition of failure when defining a rising PSA level, and 78 percent used PSA doubling time. Sixty-one percent of urologists said that rapid reduction of PSA levels after recurrence was of high or very high importance to them and 81 percent said it was of similar importance to their patients.
The findings "indicate that urologists consider PSA failure to be an important outcome in patients with localized prostate cancer," the authors write. "Researchers and policy makers need to consider this outcome if we are to design feasible studies of localized prostate cancer."
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