New international guidelines released yesterday aim to
address problems around prostate cancer screening.
Prostate cancer affects the prostate gland in the male
reproductive organs and is one of the most common cancers in men.
One in every 26 South African men will develop prostate
cancer, with white men having a drastically increased risk. Around one in eight
white men are likely to develop the cancer in their lifetimes.
The primary test for prostate cancer, the Prostate Specific
Antigen (PSA) test, is controversial as it sometimes has false positives and
picks up slow-developing cancers, often leading to unnecessary treatment with
adverse side effects such as impotence and incontinence.
"The current PSA test is not accurate enough for
population screening, yet it remains in widespread use. We need to focus on
helping both patients and health care professionals understand the risks and
benefits for this test to empower them to make more informed choices around
screening," said Professor Mary Gospodarowicz, president of the Union of
International Cancer Control (UICC) at the release of the draft guidelines at
the World Cancer Congress currently underway in Melbourne Australia.
No comments:
Post a Comment