I went to see onco at RM last Thursday and it was very interesting. I can’t find my old thread her ( what a disaster this new site is ) so a brief resume .
Diagnosed 2010, with initial PSA 1,100 and extensive abdominal lymph nodes. Put on decapeptyl and psa fell 50% every three months, to a nadir of 2.2 in March 2012 since when PSA has been creaping up over the last two years :
2.2, 2.9, 3.6, 4.1, 4.6, 7.0, 11.0, 8.0, 7.83, 11.0, and now 12.0
Brief period of anti-androgen withdrawal response from Sept 2013 to May 2014.
On referral to Royal Marsden in September 2013 they did a PET/CT scan which could not detect any sign of live cancer cells in the lymph nodes – just in the prostate and seminal vesicles.
At my May visit to Onco I was seen by a research fellow as they are very interesting in my case, they say it is quite rare in the sense that it a) involved just lymph nodes and that these have receded so well. They invited me to join a couple of research programmes:
a) Collection of clinical material from patients with hormone refractory prostate cancer.
b) Feasibility Study of prostate Cancer Molecular Characteristics to Support the Future Delivery of More Precise Molecularly Targeted Treatment.
A part of this they then booked me a full CT and Isotope bone scan and full body MRI scan.
At last weeks visit to the clinic I was told that my scan were ‘both very good’ – no evidence of any live cancer cell except in prostate and seminal vesicles.
As long as the MRI scan shows no adverse results – they will keep me on the current treatment of just decapeptyl with maybe the addition of casodex. If however the PSA continues to rise then they want me to go onto the PLATO trial, that is: The Phase IV Randomised , double blind use of Enzalutamide for a year or two, and then add abiraterone. This is for chemo- naïve patients.
All very interesting and I hope I can help the PCa community with this.
Anyone else here doing this??