By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    physical health
    5 Ways Playing Games Can Improve Neural and Physical Health
    September 9, 2022
    Reasons For Hair Loss and Its Treatment
    Reasons For Hair Loss and Its Treatment
    February 16, 2022
    healthcare organization
    5 Actionable Strategies For Healthcare Organizations
    August 15, 2022
    Latest News
    Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
    May 16, 2025
    Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
    May 16, 2025
    Choosing the Right Supplement Manufacturer for Your Brand
    May 1, 2025
    Engineering Temporary Hospitals for Extreme Weather
    April 24, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Ireland Reveals Its Patient Stories
    August 13, 2015
    CMS delays final rule
    CMS Delays 2014 Final Rule
    November 25, 2013
    Can An Medication Reminder App Boost Adherence?
    September 28, 2020
    Latest News
    Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
    May 18, 2025
    The Critical Role of Healthcare in Personal Injury Recovery: A Comprehensive Guide for Victims
    May 14, 2025
    The Backbone of Successful Trials: Clinical Data Management
    April 28, 2025
    Advancing Your Healthcare Career through Education and Specialization
    April 16, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Memo to USPSTF: Hire A P.R. Pro
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Diagnostics > Memo to USPSTF: Hire A P.R. Pro
Diagnostics

Memo to USPSTF: Hire A P.R. Pro

gooznews
Last updated: October 18, 2011 4:50 pm
gooznews
Share
5 Min Read
SHARE

Last Friday at 3 p.m., the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality held a telephone briefing to inform the press and public about the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation against routine screening of prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels in middle-aged men.

Last Friday at 3 p.m., the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality held a telephone briefing to inform the press and public about the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation against routine screening of prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels in middle-aged men. The “D” recommendation, now open for public comment, said the harms from false positives and overtreatment of prostate cancer identified by elevated PSA levels outweighed any benefits that would be achieved by the early identification of the relatively small percentage of cases that would lead to metastatic disease and early death.

They posted no slides to go along with the three presentations made at the briefing. They didn’t spell out the names of the men who spoke (I scribbled down Moyer, Chou and LeFebre). And, when they concluded their presentations, they didn’t take questions.

Yet the data they presented was persuasive. Here are a few facts:

More Read

Clinical Collaboration: The Evolution of the VNA
New Medical Laboratories Are the Key to Diagnostics Research
Diagnosing an Illness With Facebook
RSNA 2013: Mobile Connect—Image Viewers and Patient Access for Radiology
Possible Decline in Pediatric CT Use
  • Over a ten-year period, about 15 to 20 percent of men receiving routine PSA tests will be sent for biopsies because of elevated PSA values;
  • Yet elevated PSA values are not specific to cancer; 80 percent of the men sent for biopsies will not have cancer;
  • About one in 24 men sent for biopsies will wind up being hospitalized with complications from the procedure within a month;
  • About 90 percent of all prostate tumors successfully identified by the biopsies will not be metastatic, but will be localized, which makes them prime candidates for “watchful waiting,” not aggressive treatment;
  • Yet 75 percent of those identified with cancer will wind up receiving either radiation, or surgery, or both;
  • Five out of every 1,000 men who have prostate cancer surgically removed will die within 30 days of complications of the operation;
  • Ten to 70 of 1,000 men who receive surgery will have serious complications, including heart attacks and strokes;
  • Anywhere from 200 to 300 of those 1,000 men who receive aggressive treatment for prostate cancer (radiation or surgery) will become either incontinent or impotent or both;
  • In the European trial, which showed benefit from PSA testing while the U.S. trial did not, there needed to be 48 men screened every year for ten years to save one person from dying from prostate cancer. Put another way, over the 14 years of the trial and follow-up that involved both middle-aged and older men, 5 to 6 men out of every 1,000 died from prostate cancer without screening, while 3 to 4 died with screening.

To sum up, screen 1,000 men over 14 years and: 200 to 300 will become impotent or incontinent; five will die from operation complications; 10 to 70 will have heart attacks, strokes or other serious adverse events; and 2 will not die from prostate cancer. At least one of those two will probably be over 70, since prostate cancer is largely a disease of aging.

Later this week, the USPSTF is expected to make a similar finding regarding screening women over 30 for the human papillomavirus to detect cervical cancer. They will continue backing the more traditional Pap test, which is given every three years to women between 20 and 65. The report, which appears in the current Annals of Internal Medicine, said the HPV test was more accurate than the Pap test in detecting pre-cancerous lesions, but generated more false positives.

For those of us who follow medicine closely, we understand science drives these studies, just as science drives the decision-making process at USPSTF. But its parent agency, AHRQ, does itself no favors when it explains these scientific decisions late on a Friday afternoon, a week after the announcement, and gives the press and public no chance to ask questions.

TAGGED:prostate screeningsPSA
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Do You Grind Your Teeth at Night? Here’s How Night Guards and TMJ Treatments Can Help
Do You Grind Your Teeth at Night? Here’s How Night Guards and TMJ Treatments Can Help
Dental health
May 21, 2025
The Secret To A Confident Smile: Top Tips For Better Teeth
The Secret To A Confident Smile: Top Tips For Better Teeth
Dental health
May 21, 2025
Clinical Expertise
Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
Health care
May 18, 2025
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Health
May 15, 2025

You Might also Like

DiagnosticsWellness

Do Nexium and Heartburn Medicines Cause Dementia?

March 15, 2016

(Some) Docs Launch War on Overutilization

February 19, 2012

A Mobile Imaging Efficiency Showdown: CR vs. DR [VIDEO]

July 26, 2014
Global healthcare market
BusinessDiagnosticseHealthFinanceGlobal HealthcareHealth ReformHospital AdministrationMedical DevicesMedical InnovationsMedical RecordsPolicy & LawPublic HealthTechnology

Staying Competitive – Financing Medical Equipment and Technology in the Global Healthcare Market

May 20, 2014
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?