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PSA <0.03 ?

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Posted 1/30/2015 3:10 PM (GMT 0)
It does not say zero on my latest PSA test it says <0.03. What can I read into that figure (eg.detectable?)? What does this mean for me?

I'm still on HT, had an RP, and finished IMRT just over 2 months ago.
Posted 1/30/2015 3:21 PM (GMT 0)
Ronnie, its good. the < sign, means that .03 is considered undetectable by the lab. I may not be saying it right so someone correct me if I am wrong, but that's the concept. When you see that less than sign, it means the lab considers your PSA undetectable. So congratulations
Posted 1/30/2015 3:24 PM (GMT 0)
Good news. Means it is as low as the machine will read. The less than sign is what you want to see.
Posted 1/30/2015 3:27 PM (GMT 0)
My understanding is that <0.03 is the lowest threshold that the test will produce. So what Prato says, undetctable, congratulations!

Cheers, Doug
Posted 1/30/2015 3:31 PM (GMT 0)
Ronnie,

When you get a PSA with a less-than sign it conveys two pieces of information, one about you and the other about the lab that did the test. The information about you is the less-than sign "<". It means that your PSA is less than the smallest amount they bother to report. It is read as "undetectable".

The number after the less-than sign has nothing at all to do with you. It tells you something about the lab. In the case of your result the smallest PSA the lab will report is "0.03" ng/ml. If it has said "<0.1 ng/ml" it would also be an undetectable result but one from a lab that does not report ultra-sensitive results.
Posted 1/30/2015 3:35 PM (GMT 0)
The labs machine will not detect any thing below .03 and above. Your psa is below.03 hence the carat < indicates that. Sounds like some body straightened out the lab techs. It is not considered undetectable by the lab it is undetectable by the labs machine below.03. Other labs have different detectable limits, the lowest to my knowledge is .01. You possibly could find a lab online that has that particular machine, provide a blood sample and find that your psa is <.01.easing a mind that has anxiety with the ultra sensitive psa test. Or you could switch to the "standard" test whose machine detectable limit is 0.1. Yours, if you had taken that machine , would have come back <0.1
Posted 1/30/2015 3:53 PM (GMT 0)
PARTY TIME!!!

I'll bring some good beer.

Andrew
Posted 1/30/2015 4:02 PM (GMT 0)
We've all tried to explain things here but only Andrew got it right.
Posted 1/30/2015 5:30 PM (GMT 0)
I like the self-righteous, arrogant Illegitment child, ruination beer, Costco has been selling recently. I don't know for some reason…it fits me skull
Posted 1/30/2015 11:48 PM (GMT 0)
Ronnie, sounds like you are doing great on your current therapy. Hope you have good results for a long time to come.
Posted 1/31/2015 2:55 AM (GMT 0)
I was hoping it was the lowest they could measure.

Thankyou for all the positive replies.
Posted 1/31/2015 9:06 PM (GMT 0)
Congrats!!!
Posted 2/4/2015 11:36 PM (GMT 0)
It means you are a club-zero and congrats....

Like they say above, the < means the value of PSA in the sample did not register on their machine. Undetectable. The .03 is where the machine at the lab stops looking for PSA. So the highest PSA you could have is .0299 (with some rounding tossed in) and that is low. The standard machine, like my tests are <0.1 so the highest PSA I could have is 0.0999 (also with some rounding) and that is also low.

Rejoice my friend.... may you have many more zeros in your future.

DonC
_______________________________________________
Age 61 @ DX, 62 Now
DRE: enlarged w/"ridge"
Pre-Op PSA: 6.8
Biopsy: 5 of 14 positive, 12%(3+3),11%(3+3),20%(4+3),5%(3+3),4%(3+3)
da Vinci: 10/17/2014 Both Nerves Spared
Cath: 17 days
Post-Op Path:
Histologic Type: Adenocarcinoma
77gr - 4.5cm x 4.7cm X 4.2cm - 10-20% Involved by tumor
Largest module: 1.6cm Bilateral Lobes
Gleason Grade: 3+3=6 (down from a 4+3=7 in biopsy)
TNM Staging: pT2c pN0 cM0
EPE: Absent, SMI: Absent
Margins: uninvolved, Lymph Nodes all benign
Bladder Neck Negative for Carcinoma
Perineural Invasion - present, Vascular Invasion - present
PSAs: (Roche ECLIA Meth.):
01/22/15 - <0.1 (Three Month test!!!)
Posted 2/5/2015 12:02 AM (GMT 0)
Great news. Im on my way home from the gym (new lifetime best in the push jerk tonight) to have a celebratory cocktail for my lift and latest PSA result. If you're close to VT, feel free to stop by.
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