Prostate Testing

Some concern this week over the routine testing for prostate cancer in middle-aged men which does not save enough lives to justify the harm it does. Healthy men can be over diagnosed and given unpleasant or even damaging treatment for non-aggressive tumours that would not have caused problems during their lifetime. The study published in the British Medical Journal spanned 20 years and found that in the screened group 5.7% of the group had prostate cancer compared to 3.9% in the control group and not regularly screened. The problem is that every year there are 37000 new cases in the UK with 10000 deaths each year- the second most common cause of death among men. The current PSA test can’t distinguish between aggressive and non-aggressive forms of the cancer. A previous study found that to prevent one death from prostate cancer 1410 men would need to be screened and 48 treated. Keeping a healthy weight and regular exercise reduces the risk of getting prostate cancer.

Kevin 6 April.