Prostate cancer screening not very beneficial, say scientists
June 29th, 2009 Posted in prostate cancer diagnosisNo major medical group, including the American Cancer Society, currently recommends routine prostate cancer screening for men at average risk.
The recent release of two large randomized trials, at the American Cancer Society and, respectively, at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, suggests that if there is a benefit of screening, it is, at best, small.
The review says as prostate cancer is virtually ubiquitous in men as they age, it is clear that a goal of “finding more cancers” is not acceptable. Instead, public health principles demand that screening must reduce the risk of death from prostate cancer, reduce the suffering from prostate cancer, or reduce health care costs when compared with a non-screening scenario. The authors suggest prostate cancer screening has yet to reach one of these standards to date.
The report says the future of prostate cancer will include better screening tests, better methods to assess a man’s risk of prostate cancer, and prevention strategies, including the use of finasteride, a drug currently used for the treatment of urinary symptoms related to prostate enlargement.