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Author: Admin | 2025-04-28
Category Tamsulosin is a drug frequently prescribed for men who have severe urinary symptoms from benign enlargement of their prostate. It does not shrink the prostate and does not lower the PSA level. Two other drugs that also are prescribed for treating benign enlargement are Avodart and Proscar. These drugs usually do shrink the prostate and lower the PSA level. Two concerns that I have about using these drugs are: 1) they may mask prostate cancer and create a false sense of security about the PSA level being lower than it really is, and 2) patients taking these drugs for several years have a significantly higher incidence of being diagnosed with the highest Gleason grades (most aggressive) of prostate cancer (Gleason grades 8, 9, or 10).The median PSA level for a man in his 60s is 1.3 and for a man in his 70s is 1.7. Men whose PSA is higher than the median for their age group are at an increased risk for having prostate cancer. Thus, your PSA of 6.3 is concerning. The cause for the high PSA could be prostate cancer, benign enlargement of the prostate, inflammation in the prostate, or any combination of these conditions. The fact that the PSA decreased suggests that inflammation is at least part of the cause. Nevertheless, you should be evaluated by a urologist. I am now using the Prostate Health Index (phi) blood test for this purpose, as it provides more information than the standard total PSA and free PSA tests. See the Spring 2014 Quest for more information on the phi test.Two important missing pieces of information are whether you are healthy and the Gleason grade of your tumor. I would advise you to have the slides reviewed by another pathologist. If the diagnosis of prostate cancer is confirmed and you are healthy, because of your young age, in my opinion a nerve-sparing prostatectomy would be preferred over surveillance or radiation therapy. Prostate cancers arising in men with low testosterone sometimes are more aggressive.No. The dramatic increase in his PSA may not be due to prostate cancer and could
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