Restaging evaluation included a negative bone scan and CT scan of the abdomen and pelvis. With the only detectable disease being limited to the prostatic fossa, the patient was considered a candidate for local pelvic irradiation. The patient experienced no complications from the radiotherapy. Clinically, the patient has experienced no evidence of disease progression. PSA values over time.
Arrow denotes time of radiation therapy.
Transrectal real time ultrasound of the prostatic fossa and bladder performed with a 7 MHz axial probe. A subsequent biopsy of this area under monographic guidance revealed moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma of the prostate in smooth muscle. First, after a radical prostatectomy PSA levels will typically fall to very low levels. To distinguish detectable from undetectable serum samples in this very low range of PSA values, the precision and sensitivity of PSA assays must be critically examined and characterized. A variety of factors may influence detection of low quantities of PSA in the serum.