There are several approaches to keeping an eye on your cancer during or after treatment. Tests and exams in 5 points is a brief summary of the webinar on the subject, which we strongly recommend you watch.

Besides the PSA test, if your cancer is stable, you will not have to undergo imaging tests. If you have any doubts or are worried, do not hesitate to mention them to your doctor during your follow-up appointments.

While it does not replace a prostate biopsy and regular PSA tests, doctors are increasingly using imaging technology to facilitate diagnosis or to keep an eye on your cancer during or after treatment.

Medically reviewed by the Surgeon-Urologist Dr. Thierry Lebeau on 03/23/2022

• The importance of the role of PSA in the management of your cancer

Along with active surveillance, whether it’s surgery, radiation therapy, or hormone therapy, your PSA levels should drop and stabilize. Subsequently, if blood tests repeatedly show a significant increase in your PSA level, such results will most likely indicate a recurrence of the disease which may require further treatment.

• Abdominal and pelvic scan or computed tomography scan (CT-Scan)

More often used before radiation therapy to find out the exact dimensions of your prostate, this imaging test uses X-rays beamed at different angles to create 3D images of your organs. It allows your doctor to see if tumors have spread to the lymph nodes or other organs such as the liver or lungs.

• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the search for clinically significant cancer

Used before a biopsy, during or after treatment, MRI uses powerful magnets and radio waves to produce 3D images of organs, tissues, bones and blood to measure tumor size and to look for signs indicating that cancer has spread. MRI produces clearer images than abdominal and pelvic scans.

• Bone scan

This technique, which uses a small amount of radiation, allows your doctor to see if cancer has spread to the bones. You might have this test if you have bone pain, if your cancer is aggressive at diagnosis, or if your doctor thinks your cancer has spread outside of your prostate.

• Classic positron emission tomography (PET) scan vs PSMA PET-scan

If the classic PET-scan is widely used to diagnose cancers, it is less useful for prostate cancer, the injected product, a glucose derivative as a tracer, being poorly absorbed by prostate cancer cells. In this case, the PSMA PET-scan uses a radioactive product that targets PSMA – a protein – to locate cancerous cells of prostate origin. This technique is becoming more accessible, but you usually have to participate in a clinical study to be able to take advantage of it.

PSMA: Prostate-specific membrane antigen

Both during and after treatment, medical monitoring is essential. Your appointments are an opportunity to discuss with your specialist or report any new symptom that worries you. Above all, do not hesitate to ask your healthcare team for advice.

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Take the time to visit each of our pages on this website, as well as our YouTube channel, in order to get familiar with the disease, our expert lectures and webinars, our section on available resources, the support that is offered to you, our events and ways to get involved in advancing the cause.

You have questions or concerns? Don’t hesitate. You can chat with us or contact us at 1-855-899-2873 to discuss with one of our nurses specialized in uro-oncology. They are there to listen, support and answer your questions, as well as those of your family or loved ones. It’s simple and free, like all of our other services.

Webinar to review
Biopsy, understanding your report

Pages on our site that might interest
Want to know more? Just click on one of the links below.
Coping with cancer

PROCURE blog articles that might enlighten you
Every week, we publish a blog article. Here are a few for you.
What is a PI-RADS?
Biopsy Myths
Recurrence: doctor, will I die?

Written by PROCURE. © All rights reserved – 2022