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Longest Study Yet Says Prostate Cancer Testing Doesn’t Save Lives

To do a PSA test or not to do a PSA test; that is the question. The answer, as SportsGeezer has reported, depends on who you ask. Now come the results of the longest study of the effectiveness of PSA tests yet, a 20-year-long look at 9,000 Swedish men, which found that screening makes almost no difference in death rates from prostate cancer. The Boston Globe reports that the study involved 9,026 men, of which 1,500 were randomly selected to be screened every three years from 1987 to 1996. They only got digital exams on the first two visits; the PSA test was added for the next two. For the fourth and final screening, only men aged 69 or under were included. The remaining 7,532 men were not screened. The Globe reports that during the 20 years of follow-up, 85 men (about 6 percent) in the screened group and 292 men (about 4 percent) in the no-screening group were diagnosed with prostate cancer, but the death rate from prostate cancer was similar in both groups.

Read more in the Boston Globe.

9 Comments

  1. One thing I have noticed is most of the test are done overseas, why are they not being done on men in the United States more. I am a survivor because of the PSA testing.

  2. Michael Bondi

    PSA is based on a “base line”…with the way insurance coverage and providers change…who can or will check a “base line”…is that information even available to a provider…if they desire it? I have always questioned this test…just on a common sense basis.

  3. I was treated for PC and the side effects are rough.

  4. I am also a survivor because of PSA testing. Can’t understand why men will chance having cancer vs. having a PSA test. At least after the test you know where you stand and then you can make the decisions that are right for you. Cancer free and still sexually active!

  5. Don Mullins

    A PSA test in 1993 showed I had PC with a count of
    6. We watched in until 1998 when the count began going
    up. By Feb. 1999, it had doubled in 3 months. I elected
    to take radiation with seed implants. The 6 month
    checks were ok until 2010 when the count again started
    up. I was scheduled to take hormone shots in Feb. 2011.
    In Jan. 2011, I found out about Carnivora being used in
    Germany with excellent results, but not FDA approved
    in USA. Started it in Feb. 2nd 2011. Will know of
    results by next week. Believe it has worked OK.

  6. I am sorry to say, that is not the case. Even if you take the test it seems that the tests are unreliable and are apt to lead to unesesary treatments that are obviously more problamatic than the cancer that you probubly didn’t have. Many are mis-diagnosed then treated for something they didn’t have.

  7. Now I get the full idea about the cancer testing. Your blog is very nice and good to share with us.

  8. Now I get the full idea about the cancer testing. Your blog is very nice and good to share with us.

  9. Pingback: Many Mammograms Save Few Lives, Wreak Havoc | SportsGeezer

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