6 months ago
WASHINGTON (WUSA) -- Senate hearings on Capitol Hill Thursday addressed the confusion and what many say is a lack of clarity when it comes to screening for prostate cancer.
Revised guidelines from the American Cancer Society says men need to have a frank discussion with their doctors prior to having a regular Prostate Specific Antigen or what is commonly referred to as a PSA screening because the risks may cancel out the benefits.
Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, told lawmakers that the PSA is a very unreliable marker for prostate cancer and that the screening is, "....not yet proven to save lives."
Some patients, Dr. Brawley says, can suffer more than necessary as a result of possible false positives with the current testing tools available.
Dr. William Dahut with the Center for Cancer Research explains, "Some patients with elevated PSA are found not to have prostate cancer or biopsy; futhermore, there is no safe PSA value and even patients with low levels have a surprisingly high risk of prostate cancer."
Dr. Brawley and other specialists in the field say unnecessary treatment can have life changing side-effects, like incontinence.
However, while researchers look for better bio-markers or red flags of prostate cancer, others say we shouldn't give up on the PSA test until there is something better.
Betty Gallo lost her husband, Congressman Dean Gallo, to prostate cancer in 1994. She says getting a baseline PSA at an earlier age is still a good idea.
"There are younger men, its not just an older man's disease. It's a major concern to women, being a caregiver to men is so important," explains Gallo.
Survivors, like Actor Lou Gossett, also worry that the pullback on screening will impact African American men, who are at higher risk for the disease.
George Washington University Hospital's Clinical Director of Urology, Dr. Harold Frazier, shares the concern that this may deter people, especially high risk groups, from getting screened.
"In Washington, DC, we have an epidemic of prostate cancer in the African American population, and for a body to say they should not be done, I think, is wrong," explains Dr. Frazier.
Although the tools available for screening, including PSA and digital rectal exams, aren't perfect, Dr. Frazier says they can save lives.
Dr. Frazier says, "What they are trying to emphasize is that they need to talk things over with their physician. If they are expected to live ten years or longer, they should consider screening, and we recommend it very strongly. We recommend all men over the age of 50 to talk with their physician."
Written by Lauren Vance
9NEWS NOW & wusa9.com
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