Prostate Cancer advocate disagrees with eliminating PSA test for screening

A federal panel issuing guidelines for doctors says prostate-antigen testing should not be used to screen men for possible prostate cancer because it can do harm than good.

The  Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care said the PSA test is not a good screening tool because it often produces false-positive results that lead to unnecessary treatment.

They add over-diagnosis often leads to treatments that can cause impotence, incontinence and infection.

Task force member Dr. Neil Bell said PSA screening results in only a tenth of a per cent reduction in prostate cancer deaths or one less death per 1,000 men.

Peter Mallette, executive director of Prostate Cancer Canada Atlantic said his organization strongly disagrees with the recommendations.

“Simply, because we know, and several other people know, that early detection saves lives, especially when it comes to prostate cancer,” said Mallette.  “Eliminating the PSA test would mean not screening for prostate cancer.”

Mallette was diagnosed with the disease 9-years ago, he said a PSA test saved his life.

“It determined that something was wrong down there, and further testing indicated there was something very wrong down there and something that needed to be treated,” he said.

Mallette said there’s research to show if PSA testing were to be eliminated, cases of advanced prostate cancer would double.

He added, older men are not the only ones who get prostate cancer – younger men are also being diagnosed with the disease.

The task force recommendation applies only to using PSA testing to see if a man might have prostate cancer, not for checking whether treatment is working in men already diagnosed with the disease.