Patients in remission of prostate cancer or following a radical prostatectomy continue to be monitored on a prescribed basis using PSA.
As previously discussed, any detection of PSA in the blood of a patient who has had a radical prostatectomy is reason for concern and warrants a more thorough investigation as to the source of the PSA production.
The increase of PSA level in a patient who has been previously successfully treated for prostate cancer is also a cause for concern, as it may indicate the resurgence or regrowth of a tumor or may indicate that the benign tissues of the prostate are producing increased amounts of PSA due to infection, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), or acute urinary retention due to an obstruction.
This exercise has dedicated much time to examining the utility of PSA, one of the most widely studied, well-characterized, and analytically standardized tumor markers. Despite these facts, PSA still falls short of being the ideal tumor marker.
