ROCHESTER, Minn., April 10 (UPI) -- Prostate-specific antigen doubling time is a reliable tool to detect which patients are at greater risk for prostate cancer recurrence, says a U.S. study.
The "doubling time" means the time it takes for PSA levels in the blood to double -- to increase by 100 percent -- according to researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
The study in the April issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings concludes patients with a PSA doubling time of less than three months after therapy are at imminent risk of death from prostate cancer.
Patients with a doubling time of three to 12 months are at major risk for the development of widespread disease and cancer-specific death.
Patients with PSA doubling times of one to 10 years are more likely to have a local rather than whole-body recurrence, but patients with a PSA doubling time of greater than 10 years are at a low risk of recurrence, according to researchers.
