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Quick update... Thoughts?

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Prostate Cancer
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Posted 3/6/2018 6:46 PM (GMT 0)
Hi all.. Hope you're doing well. Quick update. My Dad has been on Zytiga now since January. Last check his psa had gone down from 250 to 220 (it had shot up from around 70 so we were shocked!) anyway... Today's check... It's gone up to 280. Obviousjy my parents were concerned so the nurse got in touch with his consultant. The consultant said he's not too concerned about the psa but has brought his next consultation forward slightly.

My question is... I read somewhere that psa can spike early on during treatment. Not sure if this is correct. Could someone please advise.

Thank you x
Posted 3/6/2018 7:05 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, PSA flares are common at the start of many advanced therapies. If PSA doesn't respond, there is a brand new blood test that looks for something called an AR-V7 splice variant. If present, certain drugs like Xytiga or Xtandi won't work very well. I don't know whether it's available in the UK yet or what the cost is. Alternatively, he can just try Xtandi to see if it works any better. A round of chemo has been known to restore sensitivity in a few cases.

www.oncotypeiq.com/en-US/announcements/AR-V7
Posted 3/6/2018 7:55 PM (GMT 0)
You're a star Tall Allen. Thanks for the advice. Will look in to the blood test you've mentioned. Sorry to be a pain but I have another question 🙈 A difficult one to answer I guess as everybody responds differently... on average.... how long does it tend to take to see postitive results with a drug like Zytiga. I realise he's only been on it a short time .. but do they trial it for a certain number of months before deciding whether or not it's effective?

X
Posted 3/16/2018 2:12 AM (GMT 0)
Hi there,

For my dad, if I remember correctly, I'd say it starting showing a slight decrease in a month or so.
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