Prostate bed massage as a means to determine the source of a rising prostate specific antigen after radical prostatectomy.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the value of prostate bed massage as a means to determine whether a rising prostate specific antigen (PSA) after radical prostatectomy is due to local recurrence or distant metastases.


METHODS
Eighteen patients referred for pelvic radiotherapy because of a rising PSA after radical prostatectomy had PSA levels measured immediately before and 5 minutes after a vigorous 30-second massage of the prostate bed.


RESULTS
Only one of the 18 (5%) patients experienced a rise in their PSA following vigorous prostate bed massage. Fifteen of the 18 (83%) patients' PSA levels declined after radiotherapy, suggesting that recurrent prostate cancer had been present in the prostate bed at the time of prostate massage in these patients. Only 1 of these 15 patients (7%) had a rise in their PSA after massage.


CONCLUSIONS
Prostate bed massage, as performed in this study, was not helpful to determine whether a rise in PSA after radical prostatectomy was due to local or distant recurrence.
Department of Radiation Oncology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.
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Anscher
D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008405:Massage; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology / Q000532:radiotherapy; D011467:Prostate; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000378:metabolism*; D011468:Prostatectomy; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery
D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen