PSA results detail

User

Posted 23 Jan 2025 at 12:23

Hi all,
A quick question on PSA results post treatment.
I've noticed many of you are quoting PSA results to 2 or 3 decimal places and thus you can track any small changes. Is this a standard thing or are you digging deeper into the results somehow to get this detail?

My PSA results only ever get reported to 1 decimal place so they put <0.1 as undetectable. The next jump is to 0.1 which is detectable, and there's nothing in between to see how the results have increased over time.
I've asked the hospital for a more detailed breakdown, to more decimal places but they say they only have the same info as they've given me.
Is it just my health board or the lab reporting like this?
Cheers Neil

User

Posted 23 Jan 2025 at 13:11

Neil, yes it is just your health board. It varies from area to area. My authority test down to 0.025. In my case my PSA was 0.03 after surgery and slowly crept all over the next three years. My histology was not good so a rise wasn't unexpected but at least I was aware that it was going up.

There is no point worrying about the next result, it will be what it is, i don't think there is anything you can do to influence the result. Be positive and enjoy life. If it does rise after surgery there will be a plan

Thanks Chris

User

Posted 23 Jan 2025 at 16:03

As Chris says each hospital does its own thing. My hospital does <0.05 and another nearby does <0.06.

<0.1 is designed to stop you worrying as there isn't anything that they'll do beneath that level. Although I totally disagree as you should be able to trace its rate of rise. Also my psa became 0.06 exactly 5yrs after the op and now 8yrs after the op it's 0.12, which isn't good but if it's going to come back mustn't grumble.

If you wanted to you could find somewhere to get a lower level and ask to go there, or you could pay for additional tests. Some people have paid for a test. Although it's said that different assay's give different results. Some also say they've had different results within hours at the same one so who knows.

I think the best places go down to <0.01 but I've also read that anything below <0.03 has a higher probability of error. So I'd look for something higher than <0.03. There are quite a few opinions on this topic and things change. All the best, Peter

p,s they might not like you asking to go somewhere else in the NHS especially if they have to ring up to get the results.

Edited by member 23 Jan 2025 at 16:58 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 23 Jan 2025 at 17:28

Cheers Peter. I guess my main concern is, as its only registered to 1 decimal place the next time I'll see an increase on results would be at 0.2 and that could be 3 months, 5 years or never. I feel that if I knew it was increasing at a certain rate it may help me settle my mind a bit. I've got to wait another 6 weeks now for the next one so may ask the specialists nurses the question again.

User

Posted 23 Jan 2025 at 17:36

Hi Neil,

Are you sure that's the case? I found one person on here just now who had <0.1 and then had a 0.11. I thought that was how it worked. Peter

User

Posted 23 Jan 2025 at 17:46

Hi Peter, yes pretty sure that's what I was told earlier this week. My results are logged online and every PSA result logged on there, even prior to diagnosis has been to just 1 decimal place so I'm guessing that just the way my health board does it. However I will question it again just to make sure. Many thanks for your help.

User

Posted 23 Jan 2025 at 17:53

Cheers Chris. You are right, whatevers going to happen will happen. But it's difficult not to worry. I'm used to managing projects so not being in the driving seat is disconcerting for me!!

User

Posted 25 Jan 2025 at 11:07

I think the accuracy of reporting PSA results depends on the individual health board and on the oncology consultants involved.

I'm being treated at The Christie in Manchester, my PSAs are reported only to one decimal place. The consultant is never concerned if, for example, a PSA result increases from 0.5 to 0.7 or similar over 12 weeks. They would see this as very much within the realm of 'experimental variation.' They seem only concerned with significant variations (i.e. doublings) in PSA over 8- or 12-week periods.

Please note, the caveat here is that in my case, I never had prostate surgery so they may report with more accuracy in cases where men have had prostate removal.

User

Posted 25 Jan 2025 at 11:27

Craig, as you say you still have a prostate so your oncologist won't have concerns untill you reach 2 or a more rapid rise. A few years ago I went out of area and visited the Christie, I was speaking to a consultant who is now a professor. We talked about the 0.1 testing and he said he preferred the more sensitive level of testing.

There is often talk about the accuracy of the test, my oncologist says the machines are reliable our blood isn't. In research they can test down to molecular level.

Thanks Chris

Edited by member 25 Jan 2025 at 11:31 | Reason: Not specified

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