PROSTATE-SPECIFIC ANTIGEN IN SCREENING FOR RECURRENCE FOLLOWING RADICAL PROSTATECTOMY FOR LOCALIZED PROSTATIC-CANCER

Eighty-five patients treated by radical prostatectomy for clinically l ocalised prostatic cancer were followed up for 1 to 4 years with measu rement of prostate specific antigen (PSA). Six patients with recurrenc es had elevated levels (cut-off level was 1.0 ng/ml). PSA is therefore considered an excellent tool for monitoring treatment failures. Level s exceeding 1.0 ng/ml preceded evidence of tumour recurrence by a mean interval of 11 months. PSA offers the possibility of detecting residu al prostatic cancer after surgery. It is not known, however, whether t hese patients would have benefited from adjuvant endocrine or early ra diotherapy.