Wednesday 13 August 2008

New Screening Guidelines: Don't Test Men Over 75 For Prostate Cancer


Over
the years of 75 years, hands should no longer be screened for prostate
cancer, according to recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services
Task Force promulgated on August 5, 2008 in the Annals of
Internal Medicine.
Additionally, they indicate that younger hands should discuss the
potential risks and benefits of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA)
treatment with their doctors earlier performing the test.


Prostate
cancer affects this small secreter in the male procreative system. In
2007, approximately 218,890 men were diagnosed with
prostate gland cancer in the U.S.. One in six workforce will receive this diagnosis
at some point in his life-time. Currently, screening is performed using
a digital rectal exam or the PSA test. While the PSA test has a higher
sensitivity and is more likely to detect cancer, these cancers are
ordinarily in very early stages and thusly take years to involve the man's
health. Often, cancers detected with this tests take more than 10 long time
to take hold.


The screening process, while relatively
standard, bathroom be associated with some physical and psychological harms.
Physically, the man must undergo biopsies, and there is the chance for
unnecessary treatment. Psychologically, false positives may be
detected, stellar to anxiousness. The treatment of prostate cancer itself
can own complications including urinary incontinence and impotence.
�However, early stage untreated cancers rarely causal agent any of
these
side effects -- meaning that, at a certain age, it is possible that man
is harmed by being screened for prostate cancer with few potential drop
benefits.


Men older than 75 in the U.S. have an average
expectancy of around 10 days, and in this population, death is
more likely to occur due to heart disease or stroke, rendering
cognition about prostate cancer status largely moot. Thanks to this,
masking for prostate cancer, according to the Task Force, provided
comparatively few health benefits patch still leading to scathe which was
mostly physical but partially psychological when men are 75 and older.


Men
younger than 75 can besides have a life expectancy shorter than the succeeding
ten years as a result of chronic diseases. Individuals in this
population are as well unlikely to benefit from screening.

For
younger men, they concluded that there is not sufficient evidence to
balance the risks and harms, so each single should valuate his risks
separately.


The Task Force Chair, Ned Calonge, M.D., M.P.H.,
summarizes: "Because
many prostate cancers grow tardily, early detection may not benefit a
patient's health and in some cases may regular cause damage." He continues,
explaining stream policies on the covering process: "We encourage hands
younger than 75 to discuss with
their clinicians the potential--but uncertain--benefits and the possible
harms of getting the PSA essay before they decide to be screened."


Nearly
one-third of all workforce in the U.S. over the eld of 75 are having PSA
testing performed, according to current data. Most medical
organizations suggest that it is prudent to discontinue screening when
an individual has an average expectancy of less than 10 years, only this
is the number one explicit age to be specified for this test. There are
presently deuce ongoing studies that will help clear up the potentiality
benefits of screening in men under 75: the National Cancer Institute's
(NCI) Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and
Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial and the European Study of Screening for
Prostate Cancer.


This Task force is an independent panel of experts in prevention and
primary care, with a mission to conduct rigorous, impartial analyses of
the evidence for and against many clinical preventive services such as
screening, counsel, and preventive medications. for clinical
preventative services, the Task Force defines many of the gold standard
methods.


For clinicians, extra information can be ground on the Agency
for Health Care Research and Quality website� or AHRQ's National Guideline
Clearinghouse.


For men world Health Organization have been diagnosed with prostate cancer, information around
treatment can be launch on the effective health
care parcel of the AHRQ internet site, describing effective health
concern.

Screening for Prostate Cancer: U.S. Preventive Services Task
Force Recommendation Statement


U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
Annals Internal Medicine, 5 August 2008, Volume
149, Issue 3, Pages 185-191
Click
Here For Abstract


Written by Anna Sophia McKenney


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