Prostate Cancer Screening
The solution isn’t to stop screening. The better idea is to use more specific tests - Stacy Loeb
image by: Prostate Cancer Awareness Month- National Padre
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The ABCs and Ds of Whether to Get Prostate Cancer Screening
It can be hard for physicians to follow current thinking of experts on medical care. It must be exponentially harder for the public to make sense of it. Recently, the United States Preventive Services Task Force changed its recommendation on prostate cancer screening from a D (that is, don’t do it) to a C (discuss it with your doctor).
Although there seemed to be a lot of coverage of this announcement in the news media, and a fair amount of excitement, there are two things men should know. First, it’s a good thing that recommendations change over time; second, this change isn’t as big a deal as you might think.
The task force is made up of volunteers who are…
Resources
Giving The Finger To My Prostate Exam
There is no shortage of humor regarding one particular part of a man’s physical exam: the digital rectal exam of his prostate. See, you probably just smiled — in your mind, at least — at the thought.
Prostate cancer testing: has the bubble burst?
Prostate cancer is one disease in the Grim Reaper’s quiver at the end of our lives. As we all must will die from some cause, it’s worth reflecting on why so much attention should be given to a disease that stands out so obviously as one that kills most very late in life.
Should you get screened for prostate cancer? We break down the latest advice
A panel of experts in preventive medicine released a draft proposal Tuesday on screening for prostate cancer. “Another one?” you may ask, remembering an earlier recommendation. Don’t worry; we’re here to help you avoid whiplash:
What Every Man Should Know About Prostate Cancer Screening
The question is how to find prostate cancer while it is curable, determine its severity, and treat it appropriately, while minimizing the harms of PSA screening. To do so, we don’t need to test less—we need to test smarter.
A Better Prostate-Cancer Test?
Several new prostate-cancer tests aim to reduce needless biopsies and unnecessary treatments by sorting out harmless from aggressive tumors.
Prostate Cancer Screening Needs a Massage!
PSA screening creates more problems than the cancer itself and as a result just about every major organization is no longer recommending routine PSA screening.
Prostate Cancer Screening Still Not Recommended for All
Doctors say that for men who are confused about whether to get a PSA test, there is hope. New M.R.I. tests to guide targeted prostate biopsies may help find the most aggressive cancers that require treatment, thus identifying men who do not need to be treated.
Prostate Cancer Screening: Think Different
The problem is that treating clinicians have historically done a poor job matching the right patients with the right treatments. These trends are starting to change, and a key advance in recent years, championed by many (including us and others at our institution), is active surveillance for men with low-risk prostate cancer.
The Great Prostate Debate: Does Screening Save Lives?
Evidence shows that screening does more harm than good. Now what?
The Problem With Prostate Screening
In 1970 I discovered the prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, which is now the most widely used tool in prostate screenings. But there has been a growing concern about whether the use of the PSA test has led to overdiagnosis and overtreatment, with millions of unnecessary surgeries, complications and deaths.
Federal Task Force Softens Opposition To Routine Prostate Cancer Screening
The task force would continue to recommend against PSA testing for men age 70 and older, saying the potential harms continue to outweigh benefits of routine screening in this age group.
Prostate cancer test: is it time to ditch the digital rectal examination?
The finger-up-the-bottom examination for prostate cancer has been drawn into question. An international panel of experts recently suggested that so-called digital rectal examination for “active surveillance” should be replaced by MRI scans.
The ABCs and Ds of Whether to Get Prostate Cancer Screening
I’m sure the nuances of A, B, C and D recommendations can be confusing to the public. They can also make it seem as if experts are constantly changing their minds. But this is how we want our experts to react: When new evidence is found, it should be added to older evidence to change our thinking when appropriate.
U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
“Prostate cancer is a serious health problem that affects thousands of men and their families. But before getting a PSA test, all men deserve to know what the science tells us about PSA screening: there is a very small potential benefit and significant potential harms. We encourage clinicians to consider this evidence and not screen their patients with a PSA test unless the individual being screened understands what is known about PSA screening and makes the personal decision that even a small possibility of benefit outweighs the known risk of harms.”
MyProstateCancer.com
Prostate Cancer can be diagnosed by using a Digital Rectal Exam (DRE) or biopsy of the prostate.
Prostate Cancer Foundation
Surprisingly, there is a lot of debate about whether ordering the PSA test for routine annual prostate cancer screening is a good idea. This is partly because of the uniquely slow-moving nature of most cases of prostate cancer. It’s actually possible to live out a healthy life while you have prostate cancer that is not being treated (termed Active Surveillance)—particularly for an older man. But some prostate cancer cases present an immediate threat, and need to be treated.
National Cancer Institute
Some screening tests are used because they have been shown to be helpful both in finding cancers early and decreasing the chance of dying from these cancers. Other tests are used because they have been shown to find cancer in some people; however, it has not been proven in clinical trials that use of these tests will decrease the risk of dying from cancer.
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