PSA plays a variety of roles, the most familiar being screening to detect prostate cancer. PSA also helps to define the Stages of Blue. Another role of PSA is to detect cancer relapse after surgery or radiation. Lastly, rises or declines in PSA after hormone therapy or chemotherapy help determine whether a treatment is working or not…

If every eligible candidate in North America and Europe pursued active surveillance, close to 300,000 men could be spared from unnecessary surgery and radiation every year. To date, the published literature on surveillance includes numerous prospective studies. These studies, which evaluate men who were mostly Gleason 3+3=6, fail to identify any increased risk of prostate cancer mortality…

The post-treatment surveillance policy for men who have undergone an attempt at curative surgery or radiation is to check PSA quarterly for the first two years, biannually for the next three, and annually thereafter. For radiation patients, a yearly digital rectal examination is also recommended. After treatment …