Are annual prostate tests a waste of time?

It may be heresy to say this. But, just as there’s a debate about how effective breast self examination is, there’s now a similar debate about annual prostate cancer screening.

The National Cancer Institute has issued a press release discussing a new report from a study by the  Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial. It says that “6 annual screenings for prostate cancer led to more diagnoses of the disease, but no fewer prostate cancer deaths.”

The press release goes on to say,

“What this report tells us is that there may be some men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer and have the side-effects of treatment, such as impotence and incontinence, with little chance of benefit,” said John E. Niederhuber, M.D., director of the NCI. “Clearly, we need a better way of detecting prostate cancer at its earliest stages and as importantly, a method of determining which tumors will progress.

This is a significant finding because if treatment isn’t going to be beneficial, then what’s the point of spending the money and living through the stress of knowing you have prostate cancer?

The researchers aren’t saying “don’t go get screened,” but at this point, they are wondering what the best approach is, given what they’re learning from the study.

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