Prostate Cancer Screening (Cont.)

Prostate Cancer Screening Tests

The main tools used in prostate cancer screening are the digital rectal examination (DRE) and the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. The DRE and PSA tests cannot tell if you have cancer; they can only suggest the need for further tests.
 
Digital Rectal Exam
Digital rectal exam (DRE) is an exam of the rectum. The doctor or nurse inserts a lubricated, gloved finger into the lower part of the rectum to feel the prostate for lumps or anything else that seems unusual.
 
Prostate-Specific Antigen Test
A prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test measures the level of PSA in the blood. PSA is a substance made mostly by the prostate that may be found in an increased amount in the blood of men who have prostate cancer. PSA levels may also be high in men who have an infection or inflammation of the prostate or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH -- an enlarged, but noncancerous, prostate).
 

Risks Associated With Prostate Cancer Screening

Decisions about screening tests can be difficult. Not all screening tests are helpful, and most have risks. Before having any screening test, you may want to discuss it with your doctor. It is important to know the risks of the test and whether it has been proven to reduce the risk of dying from cancer.
 
The risks of prostate screening include the following:
 
  • Finding prostate cancer may not improve health or help a man live longer
  • False-negative test results
  • False-positive test results.
     
No Improvements for Health or Longevity
Prostate cancer screening may not improve your health or help you to live longer if you have advanced prostate cancer or if it has already spread to other places in your body (metastasized).
 
Some prostate cancers never cause symptoms or become life threatening, but if found by a screening test, the cancer may be treated. It is not known if treatment of these cancers would help you to live longer than if no treatment were given, and treatments for cancer may have serious side effects.
 
Side effects of prostate cancer treatment may include:
 
  • Complications of major surgery
  • Incontinence (inability to control the bladder or bowels)
  • Impotence (inability to have or keep an erection).
     
False-Negative Test Results
Prostate cancer screening test results may appear to be normal even though prostate cancer is present. A man who receives a false-negative test result (one that shows there is no cancer when there really is) may delay seeking medical care, even if he has symptoms.
(Prostate Cancer Screening Continued: Page 3)

Pages:

Previous 1 2 3 Next

Add this article to your Favorites     Email this article     Print
Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD