Govt says Prostate Cancer Screening test more harmful than the Cancer….

The New York Times  05/22/12  Tra Parker-Pope

“Panel Issue Final Guidance Against Prostate Screening”

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/21/new-data-on-harms-of-prostate-cancer-testing/

In a controversial finding that will affect at least 44 million American men, a government task force published its final recommendations against regular prostate cancer screening, concluding that the harms of the simple blood test far outweigh any potential benefit.

The recommendations, from the United States Preventive Services Task Force, offer the most detailed breakdown to date of the potential risks and benefits of the prostate specific antigen blood test, commonly known as the P.S.A. test. Most important, the task force found that, at best, one man in every 1,000 given the P.S.A. test may avoid death as a result of the screening, while another man for every 3,000 tested will die prematurely as a result of complications from prostate cancer treatment and dozens more will be seriously harmed.

Last fall, the task force shocked the men’s health community when it issued a draft recommendation against routine use of the P.S.A. test. The recommendations apply only to the routine screening of healthy men and do not affect men who seek medical advice about cancer symptoms. Currently, many men in their 40s, 50s and older receive annual P.S.A. screenings in hopes of detecting prostate cancer before symptoms appear. A high P.S.A. score, or a rising score over time, typically leads to a potentially painful biopsy in which a dozen or so tissue samples are taken to determine if cancer has begun to grow in a man’s prostate.

Common Sense Review

Many would like to blame this on Obamacare, unfortunately this review board was created in 1984. However, how does a group of 16 people are given the power and authority to dictate care given to US citizens.  Just like Obamacare’s review board, the insurance companies take the opinions of this board in deciding to which procedure is cover and to what extent is the procedure covered. 

If a prostate screening helps detect prostate cancer for, at least, one person than it is worth the procedure.  How does the govt entity decide whether is helpful to the masses?  In my eyes, anything that detects cancer so that early treatment can begin to encourage a higher success rate is worth the support of a screening test.  

Which brings the question, what is the purpose of publishing the opinions that prostate screening more harmful than prostate cancer?