1. Community
  2. Bones, joints and muscles
  3. Polymyalgia Rheumatica and GCA

PMR and PSA levels

Posted , 4 users are following.

rocketman42
rocketman42

Anyone have any knowledge or experience with how PMR affects a males PSA levels or vice versa ?

I am a 65 year old male who was diagnosed with PMR in April of this year. Started on 15mg of prednisone and now on 11mg.  Had my annual physical this week and my PSA is 7 ( should be around 4 ). Never had a PSA done previously so nothing to compare this reading to. Now being referred to a urologist for evaluation. 

Started wondering if having an inflammatory disease like PMR and being on prednisone can cause an increas in PSA.  Of even more concern is some studies that I found that showed several cases of patients who were origially diagnosed with PMR that were later found to actually have prostate cancer and the prostate cancer masqueraded as PMR symptoms. When the cancer was treated all the PMR symptoms resolved.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • Oregonjohn-UK
    Oregonjohn-UK rocketman42

    Posted

    Might be better to drop your post in the Prostate forum they should have more knowledge.   PMR affects women more than men by about 3/4 to 1??

     

  • nick67069
    nick67069 rocketman42

    Posted

    HI Scotth42,

    SHort answer is that PMR does increase PSA. My PSA reading went from elevated (~10) to over 20 with PMR.  As you probably know, PSA reading is related to prostate size and any inflammation will increase the size. It is important to track it and see if it continues to increase or not. Rate of change is more imortant then absolute reading. High PSA reading does not indicate necessarly cancer. In most cases it is not. Seeng urologist is a good idea to sort this out. The good news is, that as you reduce inflammation ( and pred) PSA slowly comes down.

    • constance.de
      constance.de nick67069

      Posted

      I'm glad you explained (well 'semi'wink what PSA means.  Being an oldie I can never understand these abbreviations.

Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.