PSA as a screening tool

Hi Prato, Imperfect in terms of all mortality with associated PCa, but I am certain I would be long gone without the early warning system of PSA. Another consideration is that many forms of cancer can be devilishly hard to diagnose and evaluate treatment efficacy against the disease. I had a friend who just felt wonky, intermittent pain in his gut for two years. Numerous scans turned up nothing for two years until he was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. Men are lucky to have this inexpensive, easy to administer simple blood work tool available… Bill

Studies going back 10-15 years tend to miss all the diagnostic developments in the last 15 years which seem to be getting better every year. The older age profile of PCa also intersects with all the other causes of death. These links below, assuming they work for you, adds some interesting information worth reading:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38581198/

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2817322?guestaccesskey=4f006acb-c40d-46ea-83d9-38c1f5b3815d&utm_source=for_the_media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_content=tfl&utm_term=040624

"This study has several limitations. First, the screening intervention involved a single invitation for a PSA screening test, which is not typical of organized screening programs. Some advanced prostate cancers that might have been identified in subsequent screening rounds were likely missed. Second, NHS electronic records were used to identify prostate cancer, resulting in missing data for clinical characteristics and possible delays in recording diagnoses. Third, prostate cancer mortality at 15 years was a secondary outcome. Fourth, since this clinical trial began, newer diagnostic methods3 and more effective treatments for advanced and metastatic prostate cancer35 have been identified. Fifth, few Black men, who are at higher risk of prostate cancer, were included."