Excessive prostate cancer screening

September 26, 11:25 PMLA Men's Health ExaminerErnest Alford

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Routine screening for prostate cancer has resulted in more than 1 million U.S. men being diagnosed with tumors who might otherwise have suffered no ill effects from them, U.S. researchers said in August.

In preparation for Prostate Awareness month, the AUA American Urological Association (AUA) Foundation and the National Football League (NFL) are teaming.

They are encouraging men to “Know Your Stats about Prostate Cancer,” the second leading cause of cancer death for American men. But is this part of a ploy to promote screening for profit? You decide. Check out the stats.

An estimated 1 million excess diagnoses have accrued since 1986. The incidence of prostate cancer remains well above levels that existed prior to widespread PSA screening. H. Gilbert Welch, MD, of Dartmouth Medical School in Hanover, N.H., and Peter C. Albertsen, MD, of the University of Connecticut in Farmington have noted this phenomenon.

Interestly, there have been a sevenfold greater incidence of prostate cancer in younger men compared with the pre-PSA era, Welch and Albertsen reported online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Have the latest round of excessive prostate screening affected the number of medical cases? It does not seem so.

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Ernest Alford

Los Angeles Examiner Health Writer