PSA Test Reduces Risk of Spread if Prostate Cancer Strikes - US News and World Report

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MONDAY, Oct. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Having a prostate-specific antigen (PSA)

test to screen for prostate cancer reduces the risk that if cancer develops

it will spread to other parts of the body, new research indicates.

The finding adds to the ongoing debate on whether PSA screenings actually

improve survival rates or, by contrast, lead to unnecessary treatment.

" Our study shows that routine screening not only improves the patient's

quality of life by stopping metastatic disease, but it also decreases the

burden of care for this advanced disease that must be provided by the

health-care system, " study author Chandana Reddy, a senior biostatistician

at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, said in a news release from the American

Society for Radiation Oncology.

" This demonstrates that the PSA test is extremely valuable in catching the

disease earlier and allowing men to live more productive lives after

treatment, " Reddy said.

Reddy and his colleagues are to report their findings Monday at the American

Society for Radiation Oncology annual meeting, in San Diego.

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/cancer/articles/2010/10/2

5/psa-test-reduces-risk-of-spread-if-prostate-cancer-strikes.html

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Kathy Meade