Investigation Questioned The Effectiveness of
Prostate Cancer Examination
By Tommy Elder, Jr.
With the discovery
that
Prostate Specific Antigen Examinations (PSAs) may cause harm i.e. sending the examinee to treatments that could precipitate impotence, incontinence and perhaps death and it saves very few lives- many doctors express frustration with the fact that medical researchers offer little guidance.
Statistics from roughly ten years of investigation and over 77,000 men- as reported in USA Today-
discovered that a few more fatalities from the group of men chosen randomly to go through yearly examinations for prostate-Specific Antigen as those in the study group. Doctors not that due to the slow
development of prostate tumors a sufficient number of deaths have not occured at this time to determine whether the small rise present a major problem or a mere occurence of chance.
Based on a European study of 18,200 men they discovered ``more positive results: `` screening reduced the risk of death by 2090.`` Reacting to the results the American Cancer Society`s Otis Brawley asserted that the discoveries were statistically very similar to come along as chance. He noted that- `If screening is benefical it is beneficial in a very small way.`
Opponents also say that- ``many prostate tumors don`t need to cured. That`s because about half grow so slowly that they never cause harm.`` These investigations came from a Darmouth University study.