Screening Reduces Prostate Cancer Deaths

Screening Reduces Prostate Cancer Deaths
September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month

Prostate cancer is the most frequent cancer in men (excluding skin cancer) as well as the second leading cause of cancer death in American males. If found in its early stages, prostate cancer is generally responsive to treatment. In fact, data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program has established a 32.5 percent decrease in prostate cancer mortality rates since the widespread use of PSA testing.

“The majority of men should take advantage of early prostate cancer screening based on established guidelines,” says urologist Dr. Robert Wake, who chairs the Department of Urology at UT Medical Group, Inc. and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. "Each physician must discuss the early detection program or screening for prostate cancer with each patient, and they should decide together if it is appropriate for that individual patient's situation. What may be suitable guidelines for a healthy 50-year-old man may not apply to an 80-year-old man in less than perfect health." Clinical judgment and established guidelines should be used together to decide what is best for each patient.

The American Cancer Society currently recommends that most men begin annual prostate cancer screening at age 50. Dr. Wake prefers more contemporary guidelines like the ones established by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), which provides guidelines for the early detection of prostate cancer based on scientific evidence and clinical judgment. The panel consists of a wide variety of physicians with healthy differences of opinions concerning the subject of early detection of prostate cancer. Urologists, medical oncologists, pathologists, radiation oncologists, epidemiologists, and others make up the eclectic panel. These guidelines encourage physicians to talk about and implement prostate cancer screening in all men beginning at age 40 years old. The initial PSA result from this first screen is used to determine when the next evaluation should occur. These guidelines can be found at www.nccn.org.

Prostate specific antigen (PSA) and digital rectal exams are currently the main tools doctors use to screen for prostate cancer. However, Dr. Wake says researchers are always trying to develop even better screening tests that can prevent the “false positives” and “false negatives” that often occur with current methods.

One such test that may be available in the next couple of years is called Early Prostate Cancer Antigen 2 (EPCA-2), developed by researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Similar to the PSA test, EPCA-2 looks for a specific protein marker in the blood. Clinical studies have shown that EPCA-2 is more accurate than the PSA at detecting cancer and can even tell doctors if the cancer has spread beyond the prostate gland. Further studies are planned, but Dr. Wake says the new test offers great promise as a more reliable early detection tool.

To make an appointment with Dr. Wake or another UT Medical Group urologist, call 901-347-8350 for the Germantown office or 901-259-2800 for the Methodist South location. For more information about prostate cancer prevention, testing, and treatment, visit the following resources:

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