prostate-report.org

To be or not to be PSA tested

Two major studies found last week that the PSA blood test used to screen for prostate cancer doesn’t save lives and leads many men to risky and unnecessary treatment,

However, the two studies in the New England Journal of Medicine, one American and one European, found little benefit.

The European trial concluded that for every 10,000 men screened over a nine-year period, there were seven fewer deaths from prostate cancer. But the researchers found that for every life PSA saves, 48 men would have to be treated and face risk of incontinence and impotence.

The U.S. study determined no reduction in prostate cancer deaths after 10 years. In fact, the death rate was 13 percent lower for the unscreened group after seven years.

Many urologists think doctors always want to act to find cancers early, but the truth is most tumors grow extremely slowly, so unlike other cancers, a man may not need treatment because he may not live long enough to be affected by the disease.

However, an abnormal PSA test can lead men to endure painful biopsies as well as chemotherapy or radiation treatment that can cause incontinence and impotence.