Complementary Medicine Linked to a Significant Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Reduction in a 61-Year-Old Man: A Case Report

TL;DR

A 61-year-old man with advanced prostate cancer experienced a significant drop in PSA levels after using herbal medicine before starting standard treatment.

Contribution

This case report suggests that traditional herbal medicine may serve as a complementary therapy for prostate cancer.

Findings

Herbal medicine led to a 10-fold reduction in PSA levels over two months.

Subsequent chemotherapy normalized PSA levels.

The case highlights the potential of herbal medicine as a complementary treatment.

Abstract

Medical treatment for metastatic prostate cancer (mPC) involves androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and selective use of surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiation therapy. Our 61-year-old Chinese man with mPC had a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) drop of over 100 ng/mL with herbal medicine. Presenting atypically with a supraclavicular mass and an initial PSA greater than 20 times the upper normal limit, he self-medicated with herbs while pending insurance approval of prescribed ADT. After two months, his PSA dropped 10-fold. Subsequent chemotherapy dropped his PSA to within the normal range. This highlights the potential of traditional herbal medicine to benefit patients and provide complementary therapy to established drug regimens.

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