Is the implication here that men with APC need more frequent imaging studies to get a better handle on cancer progression? Is cancer progression with a low PSA likely to be the result of neuroendocrine or other rarer, more aggressive cancers?
"The takeaway is that those who are hormone sensitive still (PSA has not progressed while on ADT) a significant number (25%+) will be having progression on scans and/or clinical symptoms, even though they may not be having a rising PSA.
Those who are mHSPC should monitor with periodic advanced scans and not PSA alone."
We do not know if the cancers progressing with a low PSA were neuroendocrine, or small cell cancers etc. The type of cancers in these patients was not studied. They found that these cancers progressing with low PSA had a worse outcome.
Since these cancers progressed with a los PSA one could assume that the cancers mutated to the type of cancers you suggests. If that were true is very interesting and alarming that just doing chemo with taxotere in castration sensitive cancer could select or induced much more malignant cancer. My impression was that these types of very malignant cancers appeared much later in the treatment of castration resistant cancer.
The take away is that those who are hormone sensitive still (PSA has not progressed while on ADT) a significant number (25%+) will be having progression on scans and/or clinical symptoms, even though they may not be having a rising PSA.
Those who are mHSPC should monitor with periodic advanced scans and not PSA alone.
I recurred as Stage 4 mHSPC with metastasis to unknown location and likely rectal invasion. I'm on my third 3-month Lupron shot and my PSA is <0.1. Blood work is also all normal.
I am starting to experience symptoms like pins and needles in my toes and weakness in my legs.
My Kaiser MO downplays my concerns. Thank you for posting this tango65.
Unfortunately, I learned through a discussion with the Doctor running the PSMA-PET clinical trial at UCLA that FDA approval is still months away. Once that's done we will still have to wait for another 6+ months before Medicare gets it coded. Private insurance coverage will follow after that.
I agree, but I believe some of the trials do not charge the patients. I was going to have one done at Stanford and they told me they did not charge anything. UCLA charges $ 2800. One has to call the centers doing the studies and find out if they charge the patients.
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