PSA recently made the news when the US Preventative Task Force, a panel made of primary care doctors, decided that PSA was of no value. Well , now the PSA experts ( urologist) have addressed that claim and have come up with a much different conclusion. I pointed out in my original post the director of the USPSTF was a pediatrician and was also responsible for the claim that mammograms were of little to no value. The study published in the New England Journal of Medicine should open some eyes.
European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate CANCER (ERSPC)
The study included 182,160 men 50-74 years old, in eight different European countries. Men were assigned to one group that received PSA screening or the other which did not get PSA s performed. The study follow-up was over 10 years and it showed a 21% increase in survival in the PSA group. Those that went over 10 years had an even great survival advantage. This is what we thought but the definitive study with longterm follow-up confirms it and truly shows the how misguided the advise was from the US Preventative Task Force. DUH!
LUGPA Weighs in on PSA
The Large Urology Group Practice Association (LUGPA) respond to the above study with “See we told you so!” Dr. Kapoor President of the LUGPA said ” The ERSPC confirm what those caring for patients with prostate cancer have observed over the last two decades, that we are detecting cancer earlier and saving lives” He then went on to say that the decision on how to screen and treat prostate cancer should be made by patients and their doctors.
PSA screening over the last two decades has decreased the death rate from prostate cancer by 40%, while the incidence has remained stable.They attribute this to PSA screening and early detection.
Conclusion
Having been a practicing urologist for 20 years, I was there when we didn’t have the ability to identify the presence of this cancer untill it was too late. It was the advent of PSA that has given us the ability to diagnose men with early prostate cancer and spare them a horrible death
I don’t know about you but I’m going with the experts and I’ll continue to screen my patients with PSA and leave the arguing to the folks in the Ivory Towers who really don’t take care of anyone but always want to tell everyone else how to.
PS: Don’t forget Doctors if you don’t stick your finger in it you’ll end up putting your foot in it. (FOR THOSE IVY LEAGUE TRAINED DOCS, DO A RECTAL ).
See related articles.
“Saw Palmetto: Will it Help You Pee?”
“Testosterone Causes Prostate Cancer and the World is Flat”
