[Leica] OT Panel advises against prostate cancer screening - Yahoo! News

[j2m46 at hotmail.fr (Jean-Michel Mertz)]

Hello everyone,A very interesting debate. I happen to be screened (PSA) once 
a year and I'm very happy with this procedure because the test will reveal - 
as a first SIGN - that something might be developing, the issue being, as 
always, how the results are interpreted. I think the real problem is whether 
you trust the person who's advising you on what to do.Jean-Michel, 
Strasbourg - a newcomer to this forum> From: philippe.amard at sfr.fr
> To: lug at leica-users.org
> Date: Sat, 8 Oct 2011 08:41:09 +0200
> Subject: Re: [Leica] OT Panel advises against prostate cancer screening -  
>    Yahoo!  News
> 
> 
> Le 7 oct. 11 ? 21:42, Steve Barbour a ?crit :
> 
> >
> > On Oct 7, 2011, at 12:23 PM, Charlie Chan wrote:
> >
> >> If I may, I might interject, as my day job is as a cancer surgeon,  
> >> treating breast cancer and melanoma.
> >>
> >> The problem is to do with the balance of benefit v risk. Screening  
> >> healthy people is very different to treating people with symptoms.  
> >> One day, healthy people are walking down the street, the next they  
> >> are facing a life threatening diagnosis and all that entails.  
> >> Biopsies, surgery with possible complications etc. Problem with  
> >> prostate cancer is that not all prostate cancers are the same. Some  
> >> people will get an more aggressive form, but many people will have  
> >> a more indolent version of the disease, which doesn?t kill them.
> >>
> >> Like all screening tests, there will be ?false positives? ie  
> >> positive test results (eg PSA blood test) in people who don?t have  
> >> cancer, as well as ?false negative? tests - ie a normal PSA in  
> >> someone with cancer (very unusual in prostate cancer). The false  
> >> positive group is the real issue in screening as we can potentially  
> >> do harm to healthy people who don?t have cancer. Even in people who  
> >> do have cancer, not all of them will develop the aggressive type  
> >> that becomes non-responsive to hormone drugs. A radical  
> >> prostatectomy has its problems including urinary incontinence and  
> >> inability to have erections. Sure, you would trade that if you had  
> >> the aggressive prostate cancer type, but maybe not if you had the  
> >> indolent version. Difficult thing is that we can?t tell which  
> >> person has which type yet.
> >>
> >> So, it?s not easy. Even breast screening with mammography is not as  
> >> straight forward as it seems. There are many who think (probably  
> >> correctly) that the benefits are far less than that which is  
> >> trumpeted to the public.
> >
> >
> >
> > thanks very much Charlie, I totally agree...a delicate balance of  
> > benefit-risk, and a dilemma that for the moment is settled by the  
> > current recomendation.
> >
> >
> 
> 
> I read the whole thing on two levels:
> mass detection -> cost for the health system, potential waste, profit  
> for insurance companies and doctors alike, against benefits for the  
> population, etc.
> individual detection -> marginal risk, yet risk all the same hence a  
> tough decision for it is unclear what or whom is to be trusted.
> Better be a woman is that case again ;-)
> 
> Ph
> 
> 
> > Steve
> >
> >
> >>
> >> Best wishes,
> >>
> >> Charlie Chan
> >> Cheltenham, UK
> >>
> >> topoxforddoc at btinternet.com
> >> www.cancer-surgeon.co.uk
> >> www.charlie-chan.co.uk
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> On 7 Oct 2011, at 19:57, Gary Pinkerton wrote:
> >>
> >>> At first glance, it's as though they are saying that the screening  
> >>> itself (blood test) can cause problems.
> >>> But, isn't it more about how the results of the screening are  
> >>> dealt with (unnecesary surgeries, biopsies, etc)?
> >>> Of course, I'm easily confused, so maybe I'm misunderstanding what  
> >>> they are saying :)
> >>>
> >>>> From: steve.barbour at gmail.com
> >>>> Date: Fri, 7 Oct 2011 11:40:05 -0700
> >>>> To: lug at leica-users.org
> >>>> Subject: [Leica] OT Panel advises against prostate cancer  
> >>>> screening - Yahoo!       News
> >>>>
> >>>> this subject came up in the recent past...
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> fyi
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> http://news.yahoo.com/panel-advises-against-prostate-cancer-screening-024452851.html
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> _______________________________________________
> >>>> Leica Users Group.
> >>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more  
> >>>> information
> >>>                                   
> >>>
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>> Leica Users Group.
> >>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
> >>
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> Leica Users Group.
> >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Leica Users Group.
> > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information