Dr. Freedland on Standardized PSA Testing in Prostate Cancer

Stephen J. Freedland, MD, Warschaw Robertson Law Families Chair in Prostate Cancer, director, Center for Integrated Research in Cancer and Lifestyle, co-director, Cancer Genetics and Prevention Program, associate director, Faculty Development Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, and professor of surgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, discusses the importance of standardizing prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing in prostate cancer.

In clinical trials, established time points for PSA are needed. However, there may not be a survival difference among patients who are discovered to have a rising PSA within 1 month of each other, so it’s reasonable to test PSA every 3 or 4 months, or even every 6 weeks in clinical practice, says Freedland.

Regardless of what time point patients undergo PSA testing, it is important that they undergo consistent testing with added follow-up, adds Freedland. Notably, some patients with undergo the first PSA test and come back 2 years later, which puts them at risk of developing progressive disease, concludes Freedland.