Researchers now hypothesize that Black men may have naturally larger levels of the antigen in their blood than White men, but this does not suggest a higher risk of prostate cancer.
A new British study reveals that the PSA test, which has long been used to detect prostate cancer, may lead to overdiagnosis in Black men.
Researchers now believe that while Black men may have naturally larger levels of the antigen in their blood than White men, this does not signify an increased risk of prostate cancer.
If Black patients are being overdiagnosed, it is possible that many of them will be subjected to unneeded follow-up MRIs and invasive prostate biopsy procedures.
“Overdiagnosis of cancer may not sound as concerning as under-diagnosis, but we need to rebalance the evidence base to obtain more precise and accurate prostate cancer diagnosis in order to avoid unnecessary biopsies that can cause psychological distress and sepsis,” explained study lead author Dr. Tanimola Martins, a senior research fellow and lecturer at the University of Exeter.
“We need more research to ensure that everyone receives the best diagnosis, regardless of ethnicity,” Martins stated in a university news release.
Doctors used to commonly use theprostate-specific antigen test test to identify cancer.
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However, the screen was criticized over time for frequently detecting “indolent” tumors that were slow-growing and could have been better left untreated.
Currently, the American Cancer Society recommends that a patient and his doctor have an informed discussion before undergoing a PSA test.
Martin’s team conducted the current study by reviewing the medical records of approximately 730,000 British men aged 40 and up. The researchers monitored which men were diagnosed with prostate cancer after receiving a test result indicating elevated PSA levels.
The team reported that more than 80% of the men had normal prostate-specific antigen test readings.
However, the researchers discovered that Black males had higherprostate-specific antigen testvalues than White or Asian men.
Furthermore, among men with a high PSA, Black men were more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than White or Asian men.
However, when Martin and his colleagues focused primarily on men who were later diagnosed with advanced types of prostate cancer, they discovered that PSA levels were comparable between Black and White patients.
This shows that while Black men may have higherprostate-specific antigen test levels on testing than White men, they are not at a higher risk of developing deadly prostate cancer, the researchers concluded.
Martin’s group argues that black men’s naturally higher prostate-specific antigen test values put them at risk of overdiagnosis.
The findings were published Thursday in the journal BMC Medicine.
According to Naser Turabi, director of evidence and implementation at Cancer Research UK, there has long been uncertainty about the PSA’s value for men who do not have prostate cancer symptoms.
This may be especially true for Black guys, he suggested.
“Overall, research shows that using the PSA test in men with no prostate symptoms does not reduce the number of prostate cancer deaths,” according to Turabi. “This study suggests that the exam may be harmful to Black men in particular. This could be because they have naturally greater amounts of the protein PSA, making the test even less effective at detecting prostate tumors that require treatment.”
Turabi believes a better, more accurate diagnostic test prostate cancer is needed.
“The PSA test is not suitable for men who do not have symptoms of prostate cancer, and more research is needed to find an effective and accurate test that saves lives from the disease and reduces unnecessary treatment,” he said.
For More Information about PSA test visit at the National Cancer Institute.
Reference Article- PSA tests may lead to overdiagnosis of prostate cancer in Black men