PSA during chemo

[Rexwaterbury]

What happens to your PSA during the 6 cycles of chemo?

[HB1966]

My PSA value before chemo (in 2016) was 16. Then there were fluctuations between 6.5 and 20, always up and down. After finishing chemo (6 cycles), the PSA was 18, so it was slightly higher than before chemo. Regards

[Rexwaterbury in reply to HB1966]

Despite unchanged PSA, did you have an improvement in your imaging?

[HB1966 in reply to Rexwaterbury]

Short time after chemo I had a CT-Scan. That showed remission of several mets. So at all chemo was a success. About 6 weeks later I had a more sensitive PSMA-PET/CT. That was still showing multiple lymph- & bone-mets. The good thing is, that I am obviously PSMA-positive, so the LU-177-PSMA-Therapy will be eventually a good option in future. Regards Theo

[Olivia007 in reply to HB1966]

So if it’s 18 and ur done what now? Will it go down and if so how low does it stay and how long

[HB1966 in reply to Olivia007]

My PSA has continued to rise. Also due to the results from the PSMA-PET / CT, my Uro has suggested to me: either chemo for a longer period or switch to ZYTIGA. I chose ZYTIGA. With ZYTIGA the PSA has fallen to 0.32. That worked for 2 years, then I switched to XTANDI in November 2018. Unfortunately, XTANDI does not work at all. In November 2018, my PSA was 7.70 and the last value in May was around 40. The next options are chemo (docetaxel or cabazitaxel), XOFIGO, LU-177-PSMA therapy. Possibly also participation in an immunotherapy study. The necessary DNA sequencing was initiated. That will be decided in the next few weeks. Regards Theo

[Olivia007 in reply to HB1966]

Thank you good luck

[dockam]

Mine went from 840.2 to 0.7 after 15 Taxotere chemos in 2015. Hit a nadir of 0.1 for three months 16 months later. Back on ADT tho.

Fight on - Randy

[Olivia007 in reply to dockam]

Has it stayed low meaning ur PSA as of today since the chemo?

[dockam in reply to Olivia007]

After 18 months off ADT, PSA got to 10.2 then started ADT Dec last year and now down to 3.9

[Rexwaterbury]

Would one expect to see a change after only the 1st round?

[tom67inMA]

My PSA was already dropping due to ADT. What chemo primarily did for me was to drop my alk. phos. to low normal range.

[2zuzu612]

Oncologist shared that a drop in the rate of profession is considered a positive response to treatment.

[Hidden]

Do not forget that the PSA is a measure of how many Pca cells are being killed. Most Chemo does not kill any cancer cells - it is supposed to slow growth. Expect a drop to low numbers as chemo stops the killing of cells by the body's natural processes. After chemo, expect a rise as the body gets back some fight. It takes several weeks to get back to a "steady state" to show actual direction and numbers. Everyone is different - some come out of chemo with low numbers (it was a good idea), others come out with worse numbers (a bad idea) and a 2-year recovery period of body basics. Alas, nobody seems to be able to tell beforehand - the same sledgehammer fits all. Eat dirt to get back your gut biome (which is another vital subject) and use laxatives early.

[j-o-h-n in reply to Hidden]

So David it appears you know your stuff, thank you... We would like to know more about your stuff please. (All voluntary of course but if you answer your name will automatically be entered in our scientific pick out of a hat contest). Age? Location? Scores psa and gleason? Treatments? Treatment center? Doctor's name(s)? If you do respond please do so in a future post and not to me. Regards,

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Wednesday 07/03/2019 6:35 PM DST

[Hidden]

Posting to correct an error.

Taxotere and other chemotherapy drugs are antineoplastic or cytotoxic.

The ability of chemotherapy to kill cancer cells depends on its ability to halt cell division. Usually, the drugs work by damaging the RNA or DNA that tells the cell how to copy itself in division. If the cells are unable to divide, they die. The faster the cells are dividing, the more likely it is that chemotherapy will kill the cells They also induce cell apoptosis or cell suicide. The chemotherapy drug damages the wall of a cancer cell so that it is unable to divide (reproduce) and dies.

The key to successful treatment is to introduce the chemotherapy drug when the cancer cells are most active. Cell suicide will not take place immediately, but the cancer cells will eventually die over time as they can no longer divide.

I can not respond to Rex’ question as I took multiple drugs over a six month period; each known to cause cellular apoptosis in rapidly dividing cells as a part of in clinical trial in 2004. I would hope that he is still receiving injections of Lupron, Eligard, etc.

However, here is an one year overview of my Stage 4 with distant Mets:

Apr, 32.3 - first quarterly injection of Lupron

May, 7.3

Jun, 3.0

Jul, 1.0 - start trial

Aug, 1.0

Sep, 1.0

Oct, 1.0

Nov, 1.0

Dec, 0.7

Jan, 0.5 - end of chemotherapy infusions and orals, added Casodex

Feb, 0.5 - scans clean with all Mets resolved.

Mar, 0.4

Apr, 0.3

Jun, 0.2

PSA steadily rose to Oct, 1.9 - stopped Casodex

Had weekly PSA tests for next three months, PSA slowly dropped; reason Casodex Withdrawal Phenomena.

First undetectable PSA In Apr. I have been undetectable ever since. Able to stop Lupron/Eligard in 2010.

It is a lengthy process. Keep kicking the bastard.

Gourd Dancer

[Hidden]

I was on Lupron and chemo so my PSA drop was likely from the combo. Overall, chemo is a journey. The question is what will your PSA do in the months following your last treatment?

[tallguy2]

Mine dropped but I also restarted ADT after an 18 month “holiday.”

[cancerking]

gourd_dancer, If chemo works best when cells are rapidly dividing, who do we use ADT at the same time? ADT would seem to inhibit the chem effect.