foodconsumer.org: Thinking to get prostate cancer screening? Give it second thought!

Thinking to get prostate cancer screening? Give it second thought!
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admin on 03/06/2010 20:20:00
 
The American Cancer Society posted a press release on March 3 saying that
doctors need to talk to their patients about the risks and benefits of prostate
cancer screening as two studies found no benefits of prostate cancer screening.
But the group, which critics say is too cozy with the medical industry, still
recommends that men who are healthy and no symptoms of prostate cancer should
start being screened at age 50 and men who at risk should start the procedure as
early as age 45.
The screening tools in question are the prostate-specific antigen or PSA blood
test and digital rectal exam (DRE), which the new studies found do not help save
lives while they may cause adverse effects or harm to the patients.
One study of 76,600 men led by American researchers found that men who were
given the PSA tests every year for six years and digital rectal exam every year
for four years were at the same risk of death from prostate cancer at seven
years and again at 10 years of follow-up as those who received "usual care".
Another study of 182,000 men from seven countries led by European researchers
found those who underwent PSA tests every 4 years and a DRE twice over the same
period were at 20 percent less likely to die from prostate cancer than those who
did not receive the examinations. But the benefit is considered small as 48 men
need to be treated to prevent one death from prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer is diagnosed in about 180,000 men in the United States and
roughly 35,000 men die from the disease annually in the country.
The ACS acknowledges that it is difficult to deal with the disease because even
if prostate cancer is diagnosed, doctors often do not know whether any treatment
would benefit the patient.  Some prostate cancers never cause any harm while
others can be very aggressive. Unfortunately according to cancer.org there is no
knowing which cancer is harmless and which is lethal.
PSA tests have been considered an unreliable tool to detect prostate cancer in
the first place.  Healthy men may have high levels of prostate-specific antigens
which increase as men age. Big prostate glands tend to produce high levels of
this antigen.
Because of this and other limitations, the National Cancer Institute makes it
very clear that prostate cancer screening is accompanied with some undesirable
consequences or side effects.
There is no standard or routine screening test for prostate cancer, according to
the NCI.  All screening tests have risks.  Studies have shown that finding
prostate cancer may not improve health or help a man live longer; tests may lead
to unnecessary surgery like biopsy or treatment, tests may result in false
negative results, and false-positive results and both can harm the patients.
Now the ACS says that if you expect to live 10 years or less, don't bother to
get prostate cancer screening because chances are good that because you die from
other health conditions, you are more likely to get killed by the harm that
incurs during the treatment. That is why previous studies suggest men over 70
should not get prostate cancer screening.
Although doctors do not know which patient's prostate cancer would pose any harm
to him, the ACS still recommends that "men with no symptoms of prostate cancer
who are in relatively good health and can expect to live at least 10 more years
have the opportunity to make an informed decision with their doctor about
screening after learning about the uncertainties, risks, and potential benefits
associated with prostate cancer screening." and the talks should start at the
age of 50 years.
The ACS also say that men at high risk such as African-American men and men who
have a male in his family diagnosed with prostate cancer before age 65 should
begin talking to their doctors at the age 45. If multiple family members have
been diagnosed with the disease, then they need to be screened starting at age
40.
Prostate cancer is largely associated with male sexual hormones.  A health
observer, who did not want to be named, suggests that anything that can lower
the levels of the hormones may reduce the risk of prostate cancer.   Eating a
plant-based diet is one thing that every man may do to cut the risk.
By David Liu and editing by Denise Reynolds