Optimizing Prostate Cancer Care Moving Beyond PSA

Robert Dreicer, MD, MS, MACP, FASCO, deputy director of the University of Virginia Comprehensive Cancer Center, director of solid tumor oncology within the division of hematology/oncology, professor of medicine and urology, discusses the limitations of using prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels alone to guide prostate cancer treatment.

One's PSA level is the measurement of the amount of PSA in a patient's blood. Dreicer emphasizes that prostate cancer is a multifaceted disease, and it can not simply be defined by a single marker like PSA.

Of note, it is important to take other factors, like symptoms, overall health, and cancer progression into consideration.

Additionally, he provides a key takeaway for community oncologists treating patients with prostate cancer, saying that the ultimate goal of clinicians is to treat patients, not just PSA numbers. He notes that therapy decisions should consider the patient's overall well-being and not just react to a single marker.

Transcription:

0:09 | I think that recognizing that prostate cancer is a composite, right? So it is not just a PSA. PSA-directed therapy in many clinical settings of prostate cancer is not the only thing that one should consider. It has symptoms, clinical context, natural history, and PSA is a part of it. PSA is a blessing and a curse in prostate cancer. And the curse is patients understand that a rising number is not a good thing. But we do not treat PSAs, we treat patients.