Reuters Health | NEW YORK |
The possible
benefits and harms of prostate cancer screening have been hotly debated
in recent years, but for the first time a new study tries to put a
number on the balance of pluses and minuses for the average man.
Using data from past cancer
studies and a mathematical model, researchers from the Netherlands
calculated that on average, annual screening using prostate-specific
antigen (PSA) testing would add three healthy weeks to a man's life.
Whether screening has a net benefit or harm for a
particular man depends on how he feels about the possibility of
suffering screening- and treatment-related side effects - and how much
erectile dysfunction or incontinence, for example, would influence his
quality of life
Researchers considered the benefits of catching some
cancers early - including a lower chance of dying from prostate cancer -
as well as the harms of so-called overdiagnosis. Cancers caught during
screening are considered overdiagnosis if they never would have produced
symptoms or threatened a man's lifespan. In those cases, treatment can
cause side effects but won't do men any good.
While the European study showed a 29-percent
reduction in the chance of dying from prostate cancer in men who were
screened, another large trial from the U.S. failed to show any survival
benefit.
I note that some of the researchers have received
consulting fees from pharmaceutical and medical device companies,
including a company that designs PSA tests.
Read the full Reuters Health report
