Well, it seems that fewer men are being screened these days as a result, and less early stage cancers are being detected.
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Between 2005 and 2014, for every 100,000 men age 50 and older, the number of new cases of prostate cancer fell from 535 to 416, they report in the Journal of the American Medical Association. In 2008, the task force recommended against routine screening in men 75 or older, and prostate cancer incidence has declined substantially in that age group since then, Jemal and colleagues noted.
A separate study in the same journal, led by Dr. Jesse Sammon of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, also found a decrease in PSA screening in the United States after the 2012 recommendation.
A research paper published in JAMA has unveiled that prostate cancer screening declined from 36% in 2001 in men to 31% in 2013.
Prostate cancer often grows slowly.
“This will be looking at high risk prostate cancer that now there is no drug on the market for, it’s an area that really has an unmet need in prostate cancer”, said Sue Engerman, a Spectrum Health clinical research nurse. After adjusting for patient factors, there were significant reductions in PSA screening associated with the 2012 USPSTF recommendations. In late 2011, the USPSTF recommended against routine screening in all men, irrespective of age.
Brawley told Reuters Health that 11 high-quality trials have examined the value of PSA screening, but only two found that the test saves lives.
As we mark November, or rather Movember – men’s cancer awareness month – the university says worldwide statistics are based on U.S. statistics for African-American men and are applied locally due to a lack of reliable up-to-date local data. While it may seem unusual to study semen, Dr. Diamandis said it’s likely it contains molecules from cancer, as a few seminal fluid originates in the prostate.
While most die from something else, over 27,000 men are expected to die in 2015 from the cancer.
That’s a worrying trend, says David Penson, M.D., at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. It’s interesting that vigorous activity had the highest potential impact on prevention of lethal prostate cancer.
Sammon’s group analyzed NHIS data for 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2013 (n=20,757) to compare rates of screening PSA tests before and after the USPSTF 2012 recommendation.
“When it becomes resistant to hormone therapy we need more treatment”, Kahnoski said. The choice should be a personal one; early detection is vital for the one in seven men who will be diagnosed with the disease.
A second study found a similar drop in screening among men aged 60 to 64.
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“Thanks to Canadian Cancer Society donors, we are proud to invest in excellent Canadian scientists like Dr Diamandis who could change the way we diagnose cancers, increase survival and improve quality of life”, says Dr Bevan. “It is time to accept that prostate cancer screening is not an “all-or-none” proposition and to accelerate development of personalized screening strategies that are tailored to a man’s individual risk and preferences”.
