Study: Prostate Tests Not Saving Lives
Long-term results of a European study have found that prostate cancer screening reduces deaths from the cancer, but not overall deaths. The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test has been controversial for screening â testing of men without symptoms. Many men with a high PSA result do not have cancer. Many of the cancers that are detected grow so slowly they never would have caused harm. The new research is a follow-up on a study of 162,000 men. All were ages 55 to 69 when the study began. Half were offered PSA tests every 2 to 4 years. After 11 years of follow-up, this group was 21% less likely to die of prostate cancer than a group that was not screened. But the overall death rates were the same in both groups. Researchers said PSA testing would prevent 1 prostate cancer death for every 37 cancers found. To find these cancers, about 1,055 men would need to be offered PSA tests.