New research estimates 24% of cancers in men that were detected in 2012 were overdiagnosed, meaning they never would have caused harm if left untreated.
The PSA star, deployed in the wild.
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Wendy Melillo, American University School of Communication
The iconic advertising campaign originated as a way to protect the nation from its WWII enemies. Today, critics are asking if it’s causing harm as well as good.
A blood test can reveal whether the level of a protein produced by prostate cells is elevated.
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Prostate cancer is the second deadliest cancer among men, but not all types of the disease are as deadly as others. That has led to confusion over screening. An expert explains why new guidelines make sense.
Many men who have prostate cancer will die with it, rather than of it.
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Since the 1980s, PSA tests have been used for the diagnosis and follow-up of prostate cancer. However, its use as a screening test for prostate cancer remains controversial.
Liquid biopsy is less invasive than standard biopsy, where a needle is put into a solid tumour to confirm a cancer diagnosis.
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There are currently few effective and non-invasive methods to screen for early stages of cancer. But scientists have now developed a new blood test that promises to detect eight different cancers.
Two new studies are bursting the bubble about the value of screening men for prostate cancer.
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The evidence suggests too much medicine is doing us harm, particularly when treating knee pain, back pain, chest pain and screening for prostate cancer.
Sensationalized shark attacks skew the facts.
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Across 38 years in tobacco control, I have been asked countless times in media interviews if I ever smoked. It’s often an early question. I always unhesitatingly explain that I did: I stopped in my mid…
Professional organisations offer conflicting recommendations on the merits of PSA testing for prostate cancer.
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The Movember campaign, which encourages men to grow moustaches each November to raise funds and awareness for men’s health, has helped raise the profile of prostate cancer. Statistics such as “one in eight…
The new test could potentially spare men from unnecessarily having their prostate removed.
Jeff Werner
A new test could help doctors better understand which prostate cancers are likely to remain slow growing and could be managed with surveillance only, potentially sparing thousands of men from unnecessary…
Over-diagnosis and over-treatment happen for many reasons – and consumers contribute as well.
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OVERDIAGNOSIS EPIDEMIC – Today, Stacy Carter presents a philosophical view of over-diagnosis and what can be done to change how things stand. Recently a friend told me a story about her dad. Fit and well…
Should a faceless committee decide whether men should have treatment?
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Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is a common blood test used by doctors to assess whether an individual has prostate cancer. It also predicts the risk of developing prostate cancer sometime in the future…
A diagnosis of early prostate cancer may end up doing more harm than good.
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My offer for a public debate was accepted after I co-published opposing viewpoints about the high rates of over-diagnosis and over-treatment of early stage prostate cancer with leading urologist Professor…
Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor, AMREP Department of Medicine, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne & Senior Medical Oncologist and Palliative Care Physician, Melbourne Oncology Group, Cabrini Haematology and Oncology Centre, Wattletree Road, Malvern, Monash University