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Studies Cast Doubt on Value of Prostate Screenings Synapse Staff Report Two major, long-awaited studies on prostate cancer were released on March 19, and both sharply questioned the conventional wisdom about treating the disease. According to the studies, screening men for prostate cancer provides little or no benefit in saving lives. Further, the studies contend that treatment of prostate cancer can be painful and embarrassing and not provide any significant health benefit. The screenings, known as the PSA blood test, indicates whether a cancer is present, leading to biopsies to determine if there is a tumor. But there has been much controversy over whether detecting prostate cancer early actually saves lives. The critics note that many prostate tumors grow so slowly that the patient is likely to die of other causes before the prostate cancer becomes a threat. The studies, one European and one American, were hailed as “some of the most important studies in the history of men’s health,” said Dr. Otis Brawley, the chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society. The American study examined 76,000 men and found no survival benefits from screening. The European study found it was necessary to screen 1,400 men and treat 48 cancer cases to save a single life. “What the European study tells us is that if you are a man who chooses screening, you are 47 times more likely to be harmed (by treatment) than to have your life saved,” said Brawley. The studies were published online in the New England Journal of Medicine. The treatment of prostate cancer has many unpleasant side effects, including impotence and incontinence. “If a man is really worried about prostate cancer, he should … decide to get screened,” Brawley said. “If he is not worried, he should decide to avoid screening.” |
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