Prostate Cancer Archive

Biomarkers are "chemicals" that can indicate both normal and abnormal processes in the body. One of the most famous is prostate-specific antigen (PSA). The PSA test, which detects abnormally high blood levels of PSA, has been used for decades to screen for prostate cancer and potentially catch it early.

There are two problems with the PSA test. First, PSA levels can tell you that something is going on with the prostate — but that "something" isn't necessarily cancer. High levels may mean other benign prostate conditions. Second, when high PSA levels do turn out to be the result of prostate cancer, the PSA level alone won't tell you which cancers are aggressive and need treatment, and which are slow-growing and can be managed more conservatively.

Q. I am scheduled to have my prostate removed and am concerned about the risk of erectile dysfunction (ED) after the surgery. I've heard that taking an ED drug daily during my recovery could help. Do you recommend this?

A. About half of men lose some erectile function after radical prostatectomy, which removes the entire prostate gland. ED drugs help men to have erections after surgery, but so far research has not shown that taking it daily produces better results than taking the medication as-needed—when you anticipate sexual activity.