RE: Looking for information

November 4, 2004

, I am not sure I can answer your question, however I know there are those in this room that can. I just wanted to say that this is a great place for information and that everyone in this room cares about one another. Keep your head up, You both have done excellent thus far! Brad

> >Reply-To: ProstateCancerSupport >To: ProstateCancerSupport >Subject: Looking for information >Date: Thu, 04 Nov 2004 21:49:21 -0000 > > >Hi, >I am looking for some information. Evey year (not 2003), since 1990, >my husband has had the (free) PSA test plus the digital exam. He is >now a *young 61 yr. old. He started with a PSA of 0.5 in 1990 and it >increased gradually to 1.1 in Dec. of 2002. Tests were done at the >large Methodist Hospital in Houston, TX. This year, he changed and >went to MD Cancer Center where he has been a patient since >1998 with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma...he is doing excellent so far with >the Lymphoma. Anyway, MD did this *new test...a (cPSA) >which is suppose of be more specific..the range being 0.1 ng/ml to >2.1 ng/ml. My husband's test came back as a 3...which I understand >is quite high. His digital exam was NORMAL. They want him to go >right to a biopsy of the prostate. My question...does anyone know >what the "false-positive" rate is for this test? I just don't >understand going from a 1.1 with a regular PSA to an abnmormally >high 3 with a cPSA within 22 mo. Would you all recommed he go to a >Urologist first and try an antibotic..in case he would have an >infection in the prostate... and then repeat the PSA? MD >has already told me they will go right to the biopsy... > >I am really upset as we have been fighting Lymphoma (he was given 6 >mo. to live with that cancer...6 years ago. Now this is >happening...I am so scared as I don't know that much about prostate >cancer. Guess I'll learn! Does prostate cancer show up on blood >work? He just had blood work done(gets blood work and a Colonoscopy, >and CT scans every 6 mo. for the last 6 years). His blood work was >fine. > >Any help you all can send my way would be much appreciated. By the >way, I do all the searching...always have...my husband likes to keep >his head in the sand...I've just learned to live with it. > >Thanks for the help! > K. > > > Find the music you love on MSN Music. Start downloading now!

November 4, 2004

I'm sorry that you are facing this time of uncertainty

I don't think that you have to know the amount of false positives. What you need to know is men can have higher PSA for various reasons one of which is cancer. One reason is benign growth but an expert doing the DRE would feel the prostate is large. Another reason is infection and this can take a few months of antibiotics to clear. Normally there would be other symptoms with a significant infection.

I certainly would go to a urologist and chat through the possibility of using Cyprofloxin or other antibiotic before the biopsy.

A little information for if/when you move to biposy:-

In the majority of cases Prostate Cancer is slow growing and time can be taken to move step by step. There a few rogues that move quicker and the biposy should indicate the Gleason grade - the lower ones tend to be less agressive - 7+ tend to be in the agressive area and 9+ in the very agressive area. This is a rough grading and usually a second opinion is best if possible.

Please stay in touch with us, we can give you ideas more ideas to talk to your medics about if you need further info..

This is not a group that gets excited if someone says that you can get specialist info on another group, we suggest you get the best help you can and stay with us for general information.

I presume you are in Texas. which gets hot and sweaty in July - my only experience of live round Houston was in July 1999.

My best wishes go with you and your husband

Hambleton

Selby

Yorkshire

England

November 4, 2004

Sorry to hear of your situation; I know something of what it's like to have more

than one disease to contend with [and research ] I can't answer your question

precisely but after a quick google I found Bayer Diagnostics said the complexed

PSA test is 7-22% more specific for prostate cancer than the usual test. The

company info made mention of an article about cPSA in the Journal of Urology in

November 2003 so you might try to access this on PubMed.

Do keep in touch with us.

Best wishes

Hi,

I am looking for some information. Evey year (not 2003), since 1990,

my husband has had the (free) PSA test plus the digital exam. He is

now a *young 61 yr. old. He started with a PSA of 0.5 in 1990 and it

increased gradually to 1.1 in Dec. of 2002. Tests were done at the

large Methodist Hospital in Houston, TX. This year, he changed and

went to MD Cancer Center where he has been a patient since

1998 with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma...he is doing excellent so far with

the Lymphoma. Anyway, MD did this *new test...a (cPSA)

which is suppose of be more specific..the range being 0.1 ng/ml to

2.1 ng/ml. My husband's test came back as a 3...which I understand

is quite high. His digital exam was NORMAL. They want him to go

right to a biopsy of the prostate. My question...does anyone know

what the " false-positive " rate is for this test? I just don't

understand going from a 1.1 with a regular PSA to an abnmormally

high 3 with a cPSA within 22 mo. Would you all recommed he go to a

Urologist first and try an antibotic..in case he would have an

infection in the prostate... and then repeat the PSA? MD

has already told me they will go right to the biopsy...

I am really upset as we have been fighting Lymphoma (he was given 6

mo. to live with that cancer...6 years ago. Now this is

happening...I am so scared as I don't know that much about prostate

cancer. Guess I'll learn! Does prostate cancer show up on blood

work? He just had blood work done(gets blood work and a Colonoscopy,

and CT scans every 6 mo. for the last 6 years). His blood work was

fine.

Any help you all can send my way would be much appreciated. By the

way, I do all the searching...always have...my husband likes to keep

his head in the sand...I've just learned to live with it.

Thanks for the help!

K.

November 5, 2004

Hi ,

I can understand your concerns but it is important to understand that PSA

tests, although often categorised as " the best we have " are poor indicators

of prostate cancer.

As pedants will point out, it is strictly speaking not correct to refer to

false positives when discussing PSA . Their argument is that since PSA is

not cancer specific, it cannot by definition have a false positive or a

false negative. What studies show is that about 65% of men who have a

standard PSA test with a result of 10.00 ng/ml or less will NOT have

prostate cancer on biopsy. I think to the layperson that might be

interpreted as a 65% false positive rate. Of the 35% of men diagnosed by

biopsy after an elevated PSA of 10.00 ng/ml or less, many (possibly as many

as 80%, according to some studies, and certainly the majority) will have

what has been categorised as an " insignificant tumour " , which is to say one

that can be watched closely for any signs of progression.

I believe, and so do most of the men who have been around this disease for

some time, that the most important aspect of PSA is NOT the single test,

which can be subject to the vagaries of error, disease etc, but a series of

results that demonstrate a clear trend. Most of us would never recommend

taking any drastic action on the basis of a single result, unless of course

it was an extreme case with the PSA well over 20.00 ng/ml, although even

there one must recognise that disease of the prostate or bladder can cause

significant elevation. I read earlier this year a report from an Australian

doctor who had a patient with a PSA of over 130 ng/ml whose reading returned

to normal after a course of antibiotics.

I have written up a layperson's guide to PSA for my site and you might find

it useful to visit that. You can find it at

http://www.prostatecancerwatchfulwaiting.co.za/PSA101.html . Just re-reading

it again now I realise I must update some aspects of it, but it does provide

a broad basis to work from, I think.

All the best

Terry Herbert

in sunny Kalk Bay, South Africa

Diagnosed '96: Age 54: Stage T2b: PSA 7.2: Gleason 3+3=6: No treatment. June

'04: TURP. Sep '04 PSA 7.45 fPSA 42%

My site is at www.prostatecancerwatchfulwaiting.co.za

It is a tragedy of the world that no one knows what he doesn't know, and the

less a man knows, the more sure he is that he knows everything. Joyce

Carey

Looking for information