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Routine PSA Tests Discouraged

The United States Preventive Services Task Force has officially recommended against the routine use of the PSA test to screen for prostate cancer. PSA, which stands for prostate specific antigen is a blood test. As the number rises the likelihood of an enlarged prostate or a tumor increases. The problem is that the PSA test is a poor predictor of dangerous prostate cancer. A large study of 180,000 men lasted 11 years. It found that, at best, one death from prostate cancer might be prevented by screening 1,000 men. Screening itself has some risks, because it can lead to biopsies and surgery. Erectile dysfunction and incontinence are not uncommon complications of surgery.

The American Urological Association is outraged. Many urologists believe that the PSA remains the best way to detect prostate cancer early. The task force concludes that doctors should be ready to discuss the benefits and risks of PSA tests and take patients’ preferences into account before routinely adding the PSA to a standard blood panel.

[Annals of Internal Medicine, online May 22, 2012]

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About the Author
Terry Graedon, PhD, is a medical anthropologist and co-host of The People’s Pharmacy radio show, co-author of The People’s Pharmacy syndicated newspaper columns and numerous books, and co-founder of The People’s Pharmacy website. Terry taught in the Duke University School of Nursing and was an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology. She is a Fellow of the Society of Applied Anthropology. Terry is one of the country's leading authorities on the science behind folk remedies..
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