preview

The Importance Of Screening To Screen For Disease

Good Essays
Open Document

To screen for diseases is an important procedure if results of screening reduces mortality rate of disease. To screen for a disease such as PCa, using methods like the PSA test pre-clinically is considered to have some benefits indicating problems early alongside biopsy (rokar Dasgupta, 2012). However, the 71year old man shows no evidence that BPH leads to PCa.
Until 2008 Doctors recommended men aged 50 and above for yearly PSA screening. There are certain requirements for efficacy of screening; the disease is an important health problem, the cost of screening is balanced against the benefits, the natural history of the disease is well understood, the chance of harm for screening is less than the chance of benefits, treatment at an early …show more content…

The men whom underwent screening were exposed to unnecessarily harm of treatment. In contrast, the ERSPC trial indicated a decrease in mortality via PSA and DRE screening (National Cancer Institute, 2017). In support, PSA detects benign tumours however, discovery of tumours does not reduce death rate. However, in the United Kingdom 2006, 35,515 men diagnosed with prostate cancer, 10,168 of that died from the disease (rokar Dasgupta, 2012). It’s thought that PSA screening in general, gives rise to expectancy of life, prevents advance prostate cancer and prostate cancer related deaths, reduces the number of biopsies with negative results outside screening programme. In divergence, every 1 – 4-years attendance for screening, overtreatment, false reassurance of negative results and screening giving PSA false positive test results leading to unnecessary biopsies (rokar Dasgupta, 2012). In support, small tumours may not need immediate action, (over diagnosis, overtreatment). Overtreatment leads to complications, exposure to side effects; incontinence, erectile disfunction, and infection. Early detection doesn’t stop malignant growth with rapid metastasis. In addition, false positives given via PSA assay, leads to unnecessary treatment of healthy prostates, 25% of men that undergo biopsy have indolent PCa. Study shows, patients who’ve undergone PSA and prostatectomy, showed little reduction in PCa mortality in contrast to those on active surveillance over 12 years. There is

Get Access
Related
Get Access