Psa Scientist Says Prostate Cancer Blood Tests Unreliable
The US prostate cancer screening program tests the blood of men over 50 for PSA (prostate specific antigen)
. However, the man who discovered this unique protein has been in the media recently stating that it cannot detect prostate cancer for certain.
Statistics have shown that one man in every six will get prostate cancer in his lifetime, making it the most common type of cancer found in men in the US, and (after lung cancer) the second leading cause of cancer death.
However, making Dr Ablin's antigen the definitive prostate cancer blood test was, in his view, a huge mistake.
Testing for PSA will not show you which of the two variants of the disease are suspected - the one which will kill you and the other which won't.
Benign prostatic swelling (BPH), infection (prostatitis) and over-the-counter drugs like ibuprofen can all cause elevated PSA levels in the blood, but none of these factors indicates cancer.
Men with low readings might still harbor dangerous cancers, and this is particularly true for obese patients. A study of over 13,000 men who had undergone surgery for the disease found that patients with a BMI (body mass index) of 35 or more had PSA concentrations that were as much as 20% lower than normal-weight patients with a BMI of less than 25. A 5-foot-8 man who weighs 230 pounds has a BMI of 35, which is considered moderately obese.
But, worse than that, men with high readings could be completely healthy.
Routine PSA screening in the UK is still under review and health officials will have to weigh the fact that one in eight men will test positive erroneously against a possible cut in fatalities of 20%.
However, Dr Ablin's view is that men who truly have prostate cancer are more likely to die of some other disease first since the majority of prostate tumours grow so slowly. He would like to see a less invasive policy involving watchful waiting and repeat testing.
One positive result of Dr Ablin's discovery is in the after treatment. A rapidly rising PSA blood test score indicates a return of the disease.
In addition, men who have a family history of prostate cancer are advised to have regular tests. Scores that rise dramatically could indicate the disease.
With regards to who is most at risk of contracting the disease, the two most recent major studies, one in the US and the other in Europe, did seem to find some evidence that a diet higher in fat, especially animal fat, may increase the risk of prostate cancer.
by: Keira Benson
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