Individual estimation of the level of prostatic specific antigen in patients with prostate cancer after brachytherapy

Abstract

The study covered 44 patients with localized and locally advanced prostate cancer (PC), who were followed up for at least 18 months after brachytherapy. A significant reduction in the level of prostatic specific antigen (PSA) in the blood of patients was observed 3 months after brachytherapy and tended to decrease further during a 12-month follow-up. It is the time after brachytherapy that may be considered as a criterion for a primary tumor response to the therapy. There were individual differences in the velocity and decrease rate of PSA levels during the therapy: in 30 (68.2%) patients, PSA values were in the range of 0.01—0.98 ng/ml (mean 0.39±0.31 ng/ml) while in 14 (31.8%) patients, those were 1.10—6.20 ng/ml (3.02±1.79 ng/ml). A certain correlation was found between the parameters of PSA (baseline PSA level, time course of changes, and kinetics of PSA levels) and the outcome of the disease. A more objective evaluation of the efficiency may be made after increasing the time of a follow-up and the number of patients after brachytherapy.