Sunday, July 01, 2012

PSA prostate cancer test should be abandoned, warns government task force

By Ethan A. Huff

The verdict is in -- PSA tests for prostate cancer are unreliable, and do not offer men any tangible benefit in lifespan or quality of life. These are the conclusions of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (PSTF), which found that many more men are injured by PSA tests than are helped by it.

PSA, also known as prostate specific antigen, is a biological marker that doctors and healthcare practitioners often use to detect the presence of a potential prostate tumor. Since PSA levels in the blood are known to climb in response to prostate tumors, it is commonly thought that early detection can help in mitigating the cancer.

But there are numerous reasons why PSA blood levels can increase, including prostatitis (inflammation or infection in the prostate gland), benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), and even rigorous physical activity. Many prostate tumors that produce elevated PSA levels in the blood are also benign, and would never even cause any serious health problems. Read more…

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