Monitoring of prostate-specific antigen during external beam radiotherapy for carcinoma of the prostate

In 35 patients with histologically confirmed carcinoma of the prostate confined to the pelvis, the value of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) was evaluated during external beam radiotherapy to the prostate and draining pelvic lymph nodes. In eleven patients initial prostate-specific antigen levels wer...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inStrahlentherapie und Onkologie Vol. 166; no. 8; p. 557
Main Authors van Eijkeren, M, van Haelst, J P
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Germany 01.08.1990
Subjects
Acid Phosphatase - blood
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Antigens, Neoplasm - analysis
Biomarkers, Tumor
Carcinoma - diagnosis
Carcinoma - immunology
Carcinoma - radiotherapy
Clinical Enzyme Tests
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Monitoring, Immunologic
Monitoring, Physiologic
Prostate - enzymology
Prostate - immunology
Prostate-Specific Antigen
Prostatic Neoplasms - diagnosis
Prostatic Neoplasms - immunology
Prostatic Neoplasms - radiotherapy
Radiotherapy Dosage
Radiotherapy, High-Energy
Time Factors
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Summary:In 35 patients with histologically confirmed carcinoma of the prostate confined to the pelvis, the value of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) was evaluated during external beam radiotherapy to the prostate and draining pelvic lymph nodes. In eleven patients initial prostate-specific antigen levels were more than 10 ng/ml and in twelve patients between 4 and 10 ng/ml. In the remaining twelve, initial prostate-specific antigen levels were less than 4 ng/ml. In the course of radiotherapy we could see a significant decrease of the prostate-specific antigen, even in those with levels between 4 and 10 ng/ml. This decrease seems to follow a logarithmic course but, because only three measurements during radiotherapy were made, this needs further study. With higher levels (more than 20 ng/ml), we rarely saw a value of less than 10 ng/ml at the end of radiotherapy but had to wait for several months for lower values to be reached. In several cases prostate-specific antigen decrease took up to three months after the end of the radiation course. Our results indicate that prostate-specific antigen values actually start decreasing during the radiation course itself and may, therefore, be useful for monitoring response to radiotherapy.
ISSN:0179-7158