Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA)

Urology # 338Oct 27, 2026

From Numbers to Decisions: Clinical Utility of Biomarkers in Prostate Cancer Diagnosis

with Dr. Amir Lebastchi, Dr. Ruchika Talwar

Every prostate cancer biomarker returns a number, but the real question is whether that number changes what you do next for the patient. On this episode of BackTable Urology, Dr. Ruchika Talwar welcomes Dr. Amir Lebastchi, urologic oncologist at Keck Medicine of USC, to discuss how biomarkers are moving prostate cancer care from numbers to meaningful clinical decisions. They define what makes a biomarker clinically useful, organize the growing list of blood, urine, and tissue tests into pre-biopsy, post-negative-biopsy, and post-diagnosis settings, and talk through where these tests fit alongside MRI after an elevated PSA.

Urology # 325Aug 25, 2026

Navigating the PSA Maze in Urology

with Dr. Tarik Benidir, Dr. Ruchika Talwar

Is an elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) the beginning or the end of the prostate cancer workup? On this episode of BackTable Urology, Dr. Ruchika Talwar interviews Dr. Tarik Benidir to explore the “PSA problem,” explaining why PSA is biologically useful but clinically imprecise, often leading to false positives, unnecessary biopsies, and detection of indolent disease. They discuss a rational, patient-centered approach to elevated PSA, including when to repeat the test, how to interpret results in the context of age, race, family history, and prostate size, and the use of PSA density and age-adjusted norms instead of rigid cutoffs.

Urology # 269Oct 28, 2025

Beyond PSA: The Science Driving Smarter Blood Tests

with Dr. Jason Hafron, Dr. Ruchika Talwar

We have relied on PSA for decades, but what’s next in precision screening for prostate cancer? In this episode of BackTable Urology, Dr. Jason Hafron from the Michigan Institute of Urology joins host Dr. Ruchika Talwar to discuss the evolving role of biomarkers and artificial intelligence in prostate cancer screening.

Urology # 76Jan 23, 2023

Prostate Cancer: The Patient's Perspective

with Marc McGuire, Patrick Scheffler, Dr. Aditya Bagrodia

In this episode of BackTable Urology, Dr. Aditya Bagrodia interviews Marc McGuire and Patrick Scheffler about their personal experiences with prostate cancer, from diagnosis to remission.