PSA after radiation for prostate cancer.
The introduction of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) as a reliable tumor marker for prostate cancer brought significant changes in the end points used for outcome reporting after therapy. With regard to a definition of failure after radiation, a consensus was reached in 1996 that took into account the particular issues of an intact prostate after therapy. Over the next several years, the consensus definition issued by the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) was used and studied. Concerns and criticisms were raised. The sensitivity and specificity of this definition vs other proposals has been investigated, and differences in outcome analyzed and compared. Although the ASTRO definition came from analysis of datasets on external-beam radiation and most of the work on this topic has been with this modality, failure definitions for brachytherapy must be explored as well. The concept of a universal definition of failure that might be applied to multiple modalities, including surgery, should also be investigated, at least for comparative study and research purposes.
Kuban
Deborah A
DA
Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77007, USA. dakuban@mdanderson.org
Thames
Howard D
HD
Levy
Larry B
LB
D001918:Brachytherapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000097:blood*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D017211:Treatment Failure
D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen