Does Ivermectin Reduce the Prostate PSA Value?

Executive Summary

• Many people are concerned about their PSA value.
• In this article, I cover both the PSA test and the impact of Ivermectin on the PSA value.

Introduction

This topic deals with the impact of Ivermectin on PSA values.

 

The PSA Value

This quote is from an email from a subscriber.

I want to let you know (name removed) PSA came back up from 48.2 to 77.6 based on his last test on 2/29/24. He has been taking a PSA test every two weeks. The lowest was a month ago at 29.2. There are so many factors to think about as why these numbers keep changing. I have not been able to pin point what cause the drop to 29.2 and what caused it to go back up.

About PSA

PSA stands for prostate-specific antigen test. Oncologists normally promote the PSA test, but once you begin to research the PSA test, its outcome for patients is far more grey than presented in doctors’ offices. These quotes are from the article Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Test.

Important Point #1: The Overstatement of the Benefit of PSA Tests

The blood level of PSA is often elevated in people with prostate cancer, and the PSA test was originally approved by the FDA in 1986 to monitor the progression of prostate cancer in men who had already been diagnosed with the disease.

Beginning around 2008, as more was learned about both the benefits and harms of prostate cancer screening, a number of professional medical organizations began to caution against routine population screening with the PSA test. Most organizations recommend that individuals who are considering PSA screening first discuss the risks and benefits with their doctors.

What happened, which is a bit hidden in the wording to soften the blow to the credibility of the medical establishment, is that the tests were greatly exaggerated in their predictive ability and impact on the patient’s health.

Important Point #2: What is a Normal PSA Level?

There is no specific normal or abnormal level of PSA in the blood. In the past, PSA levels of 4.0 ng/mL and lower were considered normal. However, some individuals with PSA levels below 4.0 ng/mL have prostate cancer and many with higher PSA levels between 4 and 10 ng/mL do not have prostate cancer (1).

This means that the relationship between PSA level and prostate cancer is weak.

In general, however, the higher a man’s PSA level, the more likely it is that he has prostate cancer.

That may be true, but when such a statement is made, the correlation level is supposed to be stated. Many correlations are weak, which means the item in question is not particularly relevant. I would never tell someone that “there is a correlation” without stating how strong that correlation is.

However, even today, doctors present the PSA as highly predictive when they speak to patients.

In addition, various factors can cause someone’s PSA level to fluctuate. For example, the PSA level tends to increase with age, prostate gland size, and inflammation or infection. A recent prostate biopsy will also increase the PSA level, as can ejaculation or vigorous exercise (such as cycling) in the 2 days before testing. Conversely, some drugs—including finasteride and dutasteride, which are used to treat BPH—lower the PSA level.

This means that the score is highly variable. If repeated PSA tests are given spaced out over time, a number of factors unrelated to the baseline PSA level will change the result. This can naturally cause a person to think that a treatment they are using is working (or not working) to reduce the PSA level when the variance is related to some other factor.

Important Point #3: A Test With Many False Positives?

The PSA test may give false-positive results. A false-positive test result occurs when the PSA level is elevated but no cancer is actually present. A false-positive test result may create anxiety and lead to additional medical procedures, such as a prostate biopsy, that can be harmful. Possible side effects of biopsies include serious infections, pain, and bleeding. False-positive test results are common with PSA screening; only about 25% of people who have a prostate biopsy due to an elevated PSA level are found to have prostate cancer when a biopsy is done (2).

There is now a growing list of unreliable aspects of the test. The fact that this test was rolled out so broadly and became such a well known test without any of these things I have discussed being emphasized shows a great sloppiness on the part of the cancer establishment. The amazing thing is that this quote is from the National Cancer Institute. This is a very core entity in the cancer industry. The fact that the NCI is admitting these things gives a good indication of how bad the story is on the PSA test.

However, as I have said several times in this article, oncologists do not treat PSA tests as if they have these limitations and tend to present them as highly reliable and highly predictive of prostate cancer.

Important Point #4: PSA Tests Results in Generalized Overtreatment?

The PLCO investigators found that men who underwent annual prostate cancer screening had a higher incidence of prostate cancer than men in the control group but had about the same rate of deaths from the disease.

Overall, the results suggest that many men were treated for prostate cancers that would not have been detected in their lifetime without screening. Consequently, these men were exposed unnecessarily to the potential harms of treatment.

This makes the case that PSA screening should be discontinued.

Important Point #5: Better PSA Tests in the Future?

Scientists are investigating ways to improve the PSA test to give doctors the ability to better distinguish cancerous from benign conditions and slow-growing cancers from fast-growing, potentially lethal cancers. And other potential biomarkers of prostate cancer are being investigated. None of these tests has been proven to decrease the risk of death from prostate cancer.

The current PSA test does not provide sufficient value to patients to continue using it. Will an improved test be developed in the future? Certainly, but the current test was introduced without any evaluation of its cost-benefit for cancer screening.

Conclusion

On this site, we have many articles that cover the benefits of Ivermectin (and Fenbendazole/Mebendazole) versus cancer. However, we make no claims about the effect of these drugs on PSA. Secondly, it’s not clear what the relationship is between PSA values and prostate cancer—and that is before all of the test’s shortcomings are evaluated. I am unconcerned about whether Ivermectin reduces PSA values. I have never had a PSA test (I am 54), and I never plan to. I don’t care what my PSA value is, and I don’t trust the PSA test itself, and as I cover in the article Does Prostate Screening Improve Patient Outcomes?, just getting a PSA test is a health problem. That is the cost in health of the PSA tests exceeds any health benefit. It appears that oncologists are using the PSA test to place patients into the treatment sales funnel. When an oncologist or other doctor or hospital is knowingly misrepresenting a diagnostic test, including the health risk of the test itself, it isn’t easy to get the motivation to participate in the exercise.

Overall, the cost and effort that is put into PSA testing would be far better applied to doing the necessary things to improve health. Remember that the majority of the population has deficiencies in things that are known to be core to the immune system. And the immune system is the ultimate defense against cancer. There are things that I cover in the article List of Recommended Items to Help Prevent and Fight Cancer. Doing these things, which improve the immune system, is a far better investment than not only getting tested for one’s PSA value but for other types of cancer screening as well.