Standard PSA testing for prostate cancer doesn’t reduce the numbers of men who die from the disease, a new study has discovered.
Even men who had a PSA examination every year were just as likely to die from prostate cancer as those who weren’t regularly screened.
In a study of 6,400 men, researchers from the Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University School of Medicine found that annual screening over six years detected more cancers, but didn’t lead to fewer deaths, than those who were screened only when their doctor advised it.
(Source: New England Journal of Medicine, 2009; March 18, published online: 10.1056/NEJMoa0810696).