What Is Prostate-Specific Antigen Telling Us?
Affiliations of authors: H. M. Sandler, Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; M. L. DeSilvio, American College of Radiology, Philadelphia, PA. Correspondence to: Howard M. Sandler, MD, Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 0010 (e-mail: hsandler{at}umich.edu’ + u + ‘@’ + d + ”//–>). Prostate cancer is a common malignancy. The observed incidence of prostate cancer has undergone dramatic changes because of the widespread use of prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based screening. The debate surrounding the use of PSA as a screening method continues, whereas the use of PSA as a tool to detect recurrences of prostate cancer after initial therapy is fully enshrined in the post-therapy routine of patients with prostate cancer. Although defining the precise time of treatment failure after radiation therapy or surgery can be contested (1 3), there is little doubt that a sustained pattern of increasing PSA values after tre
