OPINION
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Don't Be Fooled: Prostate Cancer Screening Is Key
Guidelines against PSA testing could cost lives
By Matt Cantor
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Posted Aug 26, 08 11:57 AM CDT
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(Newser)
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A national task force’s recent warning against prostate cancer screenings in some men could put their lives at risk, cautions physician and researcher William J. Catalona in the Washington Post. “It's important to note that consideration was not given to the overwhelming body of emerging evidence that screening with PSA tests and digital rectal exams saves lives,” Catalona notes.
The task force advised against screening in men over 75, saying it could hurt more than help them; it said data on the benefits of screening younger men were inconclusive. But, Catalona writes, “in the United States alone, the rate of advanced cancer at the time of diagnosis has fallen 75% since the PSA screening era began.” And major cancer groups including the American Cancer Society recommend screening.