Differentiating slow- vs. fast-growing cancers<\/strong><\/p>\nChristopher J. Logothetis, MD, a professor and chairman of the Department of Genitourinary Medical Oncology at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, in Houston, agrees that doctors “are overdiagnosing and overtreating prostate cancer in the PSA screening era.”<\/p>\n
The real issue is not the PSA test per se, but how best to apply its results, he says.<\/p>\n
“We need to develop a strategy by which we take the good things from screening and protect from the bad things,” Dr. Logothetis says. “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.”<\/p>\n
If a PSA test result and a subsequent biopsy do indicate cancer, “we need to know if it is a cancer that possesses the potential to be lethal,” he says. Some prostate tumors are slow-growing and do not need treatment.<\/p>\n
“Screening needs to be continued, but patients need to be informed that not all prostate cancers require an intervention,” Dr. Logothetis explains. “A high PSA doesn’t mean you have cancer, and if you do, it does not [necessarily] mean it needs treatment.”<\/p>\n
Otis W. Brawley, MD, the chief medical officer at the American Cancer Society, echoed these thoughts in an editorial accompanying the study.<\/p>\n
“We desperately need the ability to predict which patient has a localized cancer that is going to metastasize and cause suffering and death and which patient has a cancer that is destined to stay in the patient's prostate for the remainder of his life," he wrote.<\/p>\n
As it stands, there is no clear consensus on prostate cancer screening from the major medical organizations.<\/p>\n
The American Cancer Society does not support routine testing for prostate cancer. The group states that doctors and patients should weigh the potential benefits and risks. By contrast, the American Urological Association urges baseline PSA blood testing for all men starting at age 40.<\/p>\n
“There is no correct answer,” says Dr. Welch. “You are not crazy to get screened and you are not crazy not to.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
(ISTOCKPHOTO) By Denise Mann MONDAY, August 31, 2009 (Health.com) — More than 1 million American men may have been unnecessarily diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer since widespread use of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test began in 1987, a new study says. “All overdiagnosed patients are needlessly exposed to the hassle factors of obtaining […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":839,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63,34,122],"tags":[65,37,123],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/839"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=839"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/839\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}