Mar
11
2009
Is prostate cancer overdiagnosed and overtreated?
Hi, Dr. Mix here with some health news for you. I was home sitting in my chair watching Charlie Gibson on ABC News last night, and a report of a new prostate study from the Netherlands caught my attention. The study, and an accompanying editorial by Michael J. Barry and Albert J. Mulley, Jr. of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, were published in the March 10, 2009 edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (see references below) and suggest that many men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer may have been better off never knowing they had the disease.
In a study of American men that lasted from 1985 to 2000, the researchers found that between 23% and 42% of prostate cancers identified by the PSA test are so slow-growing that they probably would never have posed a health threat. In other words, most of these men would have lived a full life and died from another cause entirely, never knowing they had these slow-growing cancers. Instead, the authors maintain , the men were subjected to unnecessary treatment as well as the psychological trauma that goes along with a cancer diagnosis.
Something to talk to your doctor about, heh?
Dr. Joe Mix
NaturalHealthMix.com
References:
Draisma et al. Lead Time and Overdiagnosis in Prostate-Specific Antigen Screening: Importance of Methods and Context. J Natl Cancer Inst, March 10, 2009;101:374-383.
Barry, MJ and Mulley, AJ. Why Are a High Overdiagnosis Probability and a Long Lead Time for Prostate Cancer Screening So Important?
J Natl Cancer Inst, March 10, 2009;101:362-363.
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