Risks of PSA Testing Essay

Today, prostate cancer is usually detected through screening, and there are two methods for early detection. The prostate-specific antigen test (PSA) is used, but there are

Another method to detect this cancer is with a Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA). Protein in the blood that is produced only by prostate cells is reflected the volume of both benign and malignant prostate tissue in the PSA. The higher the PSA level is the more likely it is that Prostate Cancer present. (“Prostate

In 2003, the recommendation from many health organizations for getting a screening mammogram was for women to begin at age 40, unless an abnormality was found during a self-breast exam (BSE) or clinical breast exam (CBE) prior to that age. In 2009, the US Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) unanimously voted to change their recommendations on when women should start having screening mammograms. At that time, the recommendation was for women aged 40-49 to make their own decision on when to have a screening mammogram; Women aged 50-74 to have biennial screening mammograms. For women aged 75+, the USPSTF could

The goal is to educate men about their risks and encourage them to get a screening. Age and race are factors with African American men having an increased risk factor and higher probability. The American Cancer Society estimates that 1 in 7 men will be diagnosed with the disease in their lifetime. Early intervention is key to a successful treatment plan.

New guidelines recently issued recommend that women with an average risk of breast cancer start having mammograms at the age 45 and continue having them until they reach the age of 54. Then after the age of 54 every other year for as long as they are healthy and likely to live another 10 years when previously the American Cancer. However, the American Cancer Society, which had taken the most aggressive approach to breast screenings, had previously recommended having mammograms and breast exams starting at the age of 40 every year (Grady, 2015)

Organizations are not the only ones at odds with current screening methods. Depending on which organization a physician prefers to follow, a patient may be told to have PSA screening by one physician and be advised to avoid PSA screening by another physician. There are several different factors why this screening is controversial. The most important is the sensitivity and specificity of PSA screening. Research has shown that PSA screening presents with an unusually high amount of false positive results (U.S. Preventative Services Task Force, 2012). This raises some concerns whether the benefit of screening outweighs the possibility of over

The first reason being the level accuracy of PSA testing is questionable. The test determines a positive for the cancer based on the levels of prostate-specific antigens in the blood of the patient, which can be abnormally high for multiple other reasons not related to prostate cancer. The major evidence supporting said claim is that individuals with more than 4.0 ng per mL (the threshold to test positive) can have false positive rates of 70% (Mulhem 2). The second reason would be the implications of testing positive for prostate cancer, including but not limited to unnecessary treatment of the disease. While the analysis does not back up unnecessary treatment with any statistical evidence, it does go to explain further tests and procedures to confirm and understand the nature of the patient’s condition. This bleeds over to the negative physical and psychological side-effects of regular prostate cancer screening cited by the analysis. Mulhem explains that after testing positive for prostate cancer, more tests are performed to determine the accuracy of the screening and if so, reveal the specificities of the cancer. The most common of these tests being the prostate biopsy, a procedure that causes a significant portion of participants to develop moderate to severe problems requiring a follow-up with their doctor (Mulhem

Prostate cancer is a kind of cancer that affects the prostate gland in men. It is a common cancer that grows slowly and its treatment can be done successfully if it is detected at an early stage. Sometimes, symptoms are not visible in case of cancer limited to the prostate gland which may result into metastatic cancer. To detect the symptoms, active surveillance can be done. There are various options available

The average age of diagnosis is between 65 - 70 years old. The risk of PCa increases with advancing age due to improved living causing an accumulation of cancer-causing faults in their DNA. It is thought to be due to a mix of genetic and environmental factors (Bechis, et al, 2010).

Benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer share a few similarities, elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Along with enlargement of prostate gland that causes urinary symptoms such as, frequent urination, hesitancy, dribbling, and frequent nighttime urination. However, they are quite different which is why more tests need to be done to confirm one or the other condition. These two diseases are also similar in the fact that they both cause an enlargement of the prostate. However with BPH the central portion of the prostate is enlarged and with prostate cancer more commonly the lateral lobes or side of the prostate are enlarged, but can affect any were on the prostate. Both can even be detected by a digital rectal exam however

In conclusion our results prove high p values for correlating mean ADC value to Gleason score and median ADC values can be used as non invasive grading method for prostate cancer.

Tumour markers are detectable cancer cells that are found in the spinal fluid, urine or blood (Craft, Gordon & Tiziani, 2011). They can include enzymes, hormones, antigens or genes (Craft, Gordon & Tiziani, 2011).Tumour markers are beneficial, in that they are able to identify high risk cancers in individuals (Craft, Gordon & Tiziani, 2011). They also help by diagnosing different cancer types (Craft, Gordon & Tiziani, 2011).There are different markers that are able to identify different cancer types (Craft, Gordon & Tiziani, 2011). For example, Prostrate-specific antigen (PSA) identifies prostate cancer cells and a-fetoprotein (AFP) identifies Hepatic cancer cells (Craft, Gordon & Tiziani, 2011). There is a disadvantage of using tumour markers, and that is that some non-cancerous tissues produce markers (Craft, Gordon & Tiziani, 2011). Therefore, to determine whether a patient has cancer, additional tests are necessary (Craft, Gordon & Tiziani, 2011).

PLCO trial randomly assigned 76,685 men aged 55 to 74 years to annual PSA screening for 6 years (and concomitant digital rectal examination for 4 years) or to usual care (Adroile, Crawford, Grubb et al, 2012). It used a PSA cutoff of 4.0 μg/L. Diagnostic follow-up for positive screening test results and treatment choices were made by the participant and his personal physician; 90% of men with prostate cancer diagnoses received active treatment (surgery, radiation, hormonal therapy, or some combination(Adroile, Crawford, Grubb et al, 2012). After 7 years (complete follow-up), a nonstatistically significant trend toward increased prostate cancer mortality was seen in the screened group (RR, 1.14 [CI, 0.75 to 1.70]) compared with men in the control group (Andriole, Crawford Grubb et al., 2009).

The finding led to the belief that the solution lied in the saturation, where the maximal growth of the prostate cancer was achieved at a low level of testosterone. This model was produced by Fowler and Whitmore, who concluded “normal endogenous testosterone levels may be sufficient to cause near maximal stimulation of prostatic tumors.” There final conclusion was that “there is not today—nor has there ever been—a scientific basis for the contention that a higher T concentration causes pCA growth, acutely or long-term.” This was a pivotal discovery because many other research labs began to do work on this same theory. Even though the other labs were doing the same research, they all came to similar results to of Huggins and Hodges, and

Acid Phosphatase is an enzyme found in seminal fluid. It comes from the prostate gland (Johnson 2009). Typically, the more Prostatic Acid Phosphatase found in a sample of semen is a sign of prostate cancer. This is important because the Acid Phosphatase Color Test was once used to determine of a male had prostate cancer. It was later replaced by Prostate Specific Antigen, aka PSA. Forensic scientists still use this test to identify semen, however. In 1938, Gutman and Gutman reported increased levels of acid phosphatase in patients with metastatic prostate cancer (Taira, Merrick, Wallner, and Dattoli, “Reviving the Acid Phosphatase Test for Prostate Cancer”). It was later replaced by the Prostate Specific Antigen in 1971 (Taira, Merrick, Wallner, and Dattoli, “Reviving the Acid Phosphatase Test