Screening for prostate cancer has long been part of the yearly checkup for many men. Although this procedure may reduce a patient’s risk for dying from the disease, evidence is conflicting about how helpful it actually is in reducing mortality. Because many prostate cancers are slow growing, treatment often does more psychological and physical harm…
Based on the evidence, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force gave a grade D recommendation against PSA-based screening for men in the general U.S. population, regardless of age.
Only 50% of clinicians surveyed agree with U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations not to perform routine PSA screening.
Many clinicians find it difficult to determine when it’s appropriate to stop screening patients for prostate cancer.
Extended follow-up data from the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer shows screening reduced risk of death from prostate cancer, but not all-cause mortality.
Two studies offer data about the effects if vitamin E and saw palmetto on the prostate.
Research suggests that androgen-deprivation therapy improves survival when added to radiotherapy in men with locally advanced, stage T3 or T4 prostate cancer or with prostate cancer with high metastatic risk.
In an update of its 2001 guidelines, the American Cancer Society stresses the importance of sharing the screening decision with the patient.
Drinking one to three cups of coffee a day was associated with a 30% lower risk of lethal prostate cancer.
A 20-year study has revealed that the rate of death from prostate cancer did not differ significantly between men who had been screened for the disease and men who had not.
