Common prostate cancer test failing to diagnose most aggressive cancers, study finds

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A extensively used test to detect prostate cancer has a small impression on lowering deaths and misses early detection of some aggressive cancers, new analysis has discovered.

More than 400,000 males aged between 50 and 69 had been concerned within the largest study of its type carried out by researchers from the schools of Bristol, Oxford and Cambridge.

The trial examined the impact of the Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) blood test, which is generally used to determine when to ship affected person with urinary signs for additional checks.

Half of the boys who took half within the trial eceived a single invitation for a PSA test.

After following up for 15 years, there was a small distinction within the variety of males who died from prostate cancer between the 2 teams.

Nearly seven males out of each 1,000 within the group invited for screening had died from prostate cancer, in contrast to practically eight males out of each 1,000 within the group who hadn’t been invited for screening.

The trial additionally confirmed that an estimated one in six cancers discovered by the one PSA screening had been overdiagnosed, in accordance to the analysis printed within the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Cancer Research UK warned that overdiagnosis of prostate cancer is the primary subject with PSA testing for early detection. It may end up in the pointless remedy of cancers that will not have induced any hurt in somebody’s lifetime.

Overdiagnosis may also have a adverse psychological impression, and remedy of prostate cancer could trigger bodily unintended effects together with the potential of an infection following a biopsy, erectile dysfunction, and bladder and bowel issues, the charity added.

Most urinary signs are attributable to a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate.

Prostate cancer is the second largest cancer killer of males within the UK, inflicting 12,000 deaths a 12 months and there’s presently no nationwide screening programme for the illness.

Previous analysis has proven the PSA test is inaccurate – it will increase detection of low-risk prostate cancers and misses some high-risk ones.

Professor Richard Martin, lead writer and Cancer Research UK scientist on the University of Bristol, mentioned: “Our studies have been measuring the effectiveness of the PSA test with hundreds of thousands of men for 15 years. The key takeaway is that the small reduction in prostate cancer deaths by using the test to screen healthy men does not outweigh the potential harms.

“This results in some men going on to have invasive treatment that they don’t need, many years earlier than without screening, and the test is also failing to spot some cancers that do need to be treated. We need to find better ways to spot aggressive prostate cancers, so we can treat them early.”

Naser Turabi, director of proof and implementation at Cancer Research UK, mentioned: “Prostate cancer remains the second most common cause of cancer death in men in the UK. Despite breakthroughs in treating the disease, there’s more we can do.

“The evidence shows that using a single invitation for a PSA test for a prostate cancer screening programme is likely to do more harm than good for men.

“We are funding research to help us find ways of diagnosing the disease early to reduce mortality, and we have trials taking place to find the best treatment for men with prostate cancer. Our search is not over – we’re determined to find ways to accurately detect aggressive prostate cancer early and identify those at highest risk.”