Messing pointed out that screening-detected cancer doesn't mean surgery, chemotherapy or radiation treatment must follow. Most cases can be watched for some time, he said.
Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, said over the past few years a number of studies have been published on the benefits and harms of PSA testing.
"None of these studies can be considered decisive other than in proving that there are some harms associated with treatment," he said. The American Cancer Society still supports screening for certain men in consultation with a physician.
Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death among men in the United States. In 2012, more than 240,000 new cases are expected to be diagnosed, and 28,000 men will die from the disease, researchers say.
More information
For more information on prostate cancer, visit the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
SOURCES: Edward M. Messing, M.D., chair of urology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, N.Y.; Michael LeFevre, M.D., M.S.P.H., co-vice chair, U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, and professor, department of family and community medicine, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, Mo.; Otis Brawley, M.D., chief medical officer, American Cancer Society; July 30, 2012, Cancer, online
| Copyright©2012 ScoutNews,LLC. All rights reserved |