By David Liu, PHD

Thursday July 19, 2012 (foodconsumer.org) -- In the July 16, 2012 issue of Journal of Clinical Oncology, American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)  says it recommends that men with a life expectancy equal or smaller than 10 years be discouraged to receive the general screening for prostate cancer with total prostate-specific antigen or PSA test.

The organization says that it makes such a recommendation because evidence is strong that the PSA screening test, which doctors use for prostate cancer screening, can cause more harm than good in this age-group of men.  The rational behind this screening test is that early diagnosis can lead to early treatment, which is assumed to save more lives.  But that rational does not hold true in this case.

First, PSA test results are not accurate. This PSA test in itself does not accurately tell you whether you suffer prostate cancer. It can lead to false positive diagnosis of prostate cancer, which leads to further harmful diagnosis and treatment.  "PSA testing may save lives but is associated with harms, including complications, from unnecessary biopsy, surgery, or radiation treatment," the authors of the report wrote.

Secondly, prostate cancer in many cases does not pose a life-threatening risk and following a healthy lifestyle could keep the condition in check.  It has been early recommended that men aged 70 or older may not have to bother to receive prostate cancer screening test because they are more likely to die from other health conditions than prostate cancer.  

Because the prostate cancer screening is not free of harm, ASCO says even men who have a greater than 10 year life expectancy should talk to their doctors about this test before he actually do anything to decide whether the risk is worth taking.  

PSA test may be best used to monitor the status of prostate cancer in patients and it should not be used as a general screening method to detect prostate cancer, the inventor of this test said.

ASCO routinely makes the medical recommendations. This so called provisional clinical opinion (PCO) is based on data largely from a 2011 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality systematic review.   The organization also conducted a search on literature published to March 16, 2012 for additional evidence on the benefits and harms of PSA-based screening.  It is now than ever that evidence is strong to indicate that men aged 70 or older should be better off not participating in the prostate cancer screening.

Prostate cancer is expected to be diagnosed in about 210,000 men in the United States. The disease kills about 35,000 each year in the country, according to the National Cancer Institute.  Prostate cancer prevention is possible in many cases