Year: 1997
Type: article
Abstract: National health statistics document a decade-long increase in the incidence of prostate cancer the likes of which have never been seen for this or any other cancer. In 1986, 91 out of 100,000 US men were diagnosed with prostate cancer. ln 1994, this rate had increased 60%, to 144 per 100,000. (1) This striking trend has certainly not gone unnoticed by clinicians, policy-makers, or the public. The widespread use of prostate specific antigen (PSA) screening has no doubt contributed greatly to the rise in incidence. PSA-detected tumors tend to present earlier in their natural history than tumors detected through other means. If this early detection increases likelihood of successful treatment resulting in reduced mortality, then screening clearly has conferred a benefit. If, however, patients with screen-detected tumors are merely diagnosed earlier but have outcomes no different than those detected through other means, the benefit of early detection is obviously questionable. Determining whether PSA screening leads to mortality benefits and answering other related questions, such as what treatment approach is best for early-stage disease,
Source: The Medicine Forum
Author: Craig J. Newschaffer
Language: English
Subfield: Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W755936691