WASHINGTON - After lung cancer, prostate cancer is the mostprevalent killer of men in the United States. So when the U.S.Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended that men stophaving a test that can tell if they have prostate cancer, itstirred up controversy in the medical community. For years, men over the age of 40 were told to get a simple bloodtest to see if they have prostate cancer. But the rationale behindthe new recommendation is that treating the cancer can producedmore harm than good. "Close to two-thirds of older men have prostate cancer, andyet the huge majority of them never have a problem from it in theirlifetime," says Dr. Virginia Moyer, who heads USPSTF. The task force reviewed two large studies before concluding thatthe potentially harmful risks of treating the cancer revealed bythe PSA test can outweigh the benefits. While the more commonpost-treatment side effects include impotence and incontinence,some physicians cite other, potentially more serious risks. "I actually think impotence and incontinence are some of theminor side effects," says Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medicalofficer and executive vice president of the American CancerSociety. "Some [patients] are actually going to havesignificant problems like pulmonary emboli, heart attacks." But many doctors disagree. The American Urological Association posted a statement onlineexpressing outrage over the task force's recommendation,specifically because the PSA test is the only widely available testfor prostate cancer. "In the PSA-testing era, which has been over the last 20 yearsor so, the mortality for prostate cancer has declined by 38 percent," says Dr. Deepak Kapoor, Chairman and CEO of IntegratedMedical Professionals and president of the Large Urology GroupPractice Association (LUGPA). Because of the PSA test, he explains, most aggressive forms ofprostate cancer are diagnosed before they spread, and the number ofpatients who live at least 10 years after diagnosis is at anall-time high. "I have very grave concerns that if we cut back on thescreening of prostate cancer, and we no longer detect in its mostcurable state, [we will have a] public health catastrophe on ourhands," he says. But primary care doctors, not urologists, are the physicians mostlikely to order PSA tests. Although studies show that these tests can produce false positives,once cancer is detected, few men are able to wait and see if -- orhow rapidly -- the cancer will grow. Dr. Daniel Merenstein of Georgetown University Medical Center saysstudies show it is simply a bad test. "It's a shame that we don't have a better test," he says."We need to stop wasting resources on tests that we know arenot very good." Dr. Merenstein says he's not planning on having routine PSAscreenings for himself, but says the decision to have the test ishighly individual and is best made after consultation with atrusted doctor. I am an expert from protectivephonecovers.com, while we provides the quality product, such as HTC Protective Case , Touch Screen Protective Film, iPhone4 Leather Cases,and more.
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