Prostate tests necessary for 'at risk'‎

While previous studies have linked regular screening with overdiagnosis of prostate cancer, a new study points out the need for the test in high risk patients.

Screening for prostate cancer remains controversial as many studies have revealed the inaccuracy of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests in differentiating men with aggressive cancer and those who would never need treatment.

Many physicians, therefore, have dissuaded men from getting screened for prostate cancer due to the increasing fears of overdiagnosis.

According to the study published in the British Journal of Urology International, men with inheritable variations in genes known as BRCA1 and BRCA2 are at a greater risk of developing prostate cancer in the long run.

Regular screening of these patients for the disease has a high predictive value of diagnosing prostate cancer, the second most common cancer in men worldwide, in early stages when the disease is still treatable.

"Although these are early results, it appears that (prostate cancer) screening is reasonably accurate at predicting potentially aggressive prostate cancer among men at higher risk of the disease due to a genetic predisposition," said lead researcher Rosalind Eeles from Britain's Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and Royal Marsden hospital.

British scientists therefore urged men with a family history of breast and ovarian cancer to undergo regular screening for prostate cancer in order to reduce the risk of costly and damaging overdiagnosis.

Via : presstv.ir