New Prostate Screening Guidelines Create Confusion

Recent guidelines from the American Cancer Society regarding prostate screening have created a lot of confusion. It is important to know exactly what these new guidelines suggest and why.

The new guidelines simply suggest that men should consult with their doctor and weigh the benefits of receiving a PSA blood test during screening for prostate cancer. These guidelines seem to be neither promoting nor discrediting PSA prostate screening, thus the confusion.

This is a reaction to two different clinical trials with conflicting results. To give a short explanation, while prostate screening followed by treatment can improve the survival rates of men with prostate cancer, this benefit is offset somewhat by treatment given to men who may not have had life threatening cancer at all.

This suggests that improvement is needed in the science behind these screenings and how they influence decisions regarding treatment. Treatment can have some nasty side effects including erectile dysfunction and problems related to bowel movements and passing urine.

So from these competing risks came the new guidelines. While they wait for the science to improve, it is perhaps best for men to follow these new guidelines and weigh the benefits of testing carefully with their doctors.