PSA Scientist says Prostate Cancer Blood Tests Unreliable
Posted: Wednesday, May 26, 2010
by Keira Benson
Dr Richard Ablin, the scientist who discovered prostate specific antigen, the unique protein which is the basis for prostate cancer tests in the US, has been all over the media recently as a result of his announcement that PSA testing cannot detect prostate cancer.
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.
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.
Dr Ablin's original intent was to find a unique protein that could definitely indicate cancer but elevated psa levels can also be caused by benign prostatic swelling, infection and ibuprofen.
There are also problems with consistently low readings for obese patients. A study of more than 13,000 prostate surgery patients showed that PSA concentrations in obese patients with a body mass index of more than 35 could be between 10 and 20% lower than those of patiends with a BMI that was 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%.
Because most prostate tumours grow very slowly, it is Dr Ablin's opinion that men who do actually have prostate cancer are more likely to die of another condition. 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.
Also, regular testing is advisable for men who have a family history of the disease, as a score that starts to rise dramatically could mean cancer.
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.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)I think we give the medical profession far too much power too easily, and buy whatever they tell us. I think your article's great, thanks Keira.Hey Jennifer,It's certainly extremely frightening to think that our menfolk rely on a test that its inventor does not have any faith in :( You can't help wondering how many men have had unnecessary surgery and, worse, surgery that has led to problems with incontinence and impotence when they could have carried on as normal.Keira x
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