Loeb S, Feng Z, Ross A, Trock BJ, Humphreys EB, and Walsh PC.
“Can We Stop Prostate Specific Antigen Testing 10 Years After Radical Prostatectomy?”
Journal of Urology August 2011; 186: 500. PMID: 21679999.
Link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21679999
Patients often ask whether it is necessary to continue PSA testing indefinitely after radical prostatectomy. In the Johns Hopkins radical prostatectomy database, 77% of all biochemical recurrences occurred within the first 5 years, 17% from 5-10 years, 6% from 10-15 years and only 1.5% more than 15 years after surgery. For men with an undetectable prostate specific antigen at 10 years the actuarial probability of biochemical recurrence and metastasis at 20 years varied by stage and grade, with no metastases in patients with low-grade disease at prostatectomy. A single patient with an undetectable prostate specific antigen at 10 years died of prostate cancer within 20 years after radical prostatectomy. This suggests that less intense monitoring is possible beyond 10 years, particularly for men with favorable tumor features.