Prostate tissue samples are taken from over a million men around the world every year - in most cases using 12 large biopsy needles - to check whether they have prostate cancer.
This medical procedure, which was recently described by an American urology professor as 'barbaric'**, shows that 70% of the subjects do not have cancer. The examination is unnecessarily painful and involves risk for these patients, and it is also costly to carry out. A patient-friendly examination, which drastically reduces the need for biopsies, and may even eliminate them altogether, has been developed at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), together with AMC Amsterdam. The results will be presented at the European Association of Urology Congress in Stockholm, on 14 April.
Prostate Cancer Screening
PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) test and Digital Rectal Examination are two tests that allow detection of prostate cancer at early stages.
Hundreds of thousands of men die each year from prostate cancer. The standard procedure used worldwide for prostate cancer examinations starts with measurement of the PSA (prostate specific antigen) value in the blood. If this is high, physicians will usually remove samples of prostate tissue through the anus at six to sixteen points for pathological examination. However, 70% of the subjects show no signs of cancer.
Source: Eurekalert
Prostate Cancer: Treatment Options
Treatment options of prostate cancer includes waiting, surgery, radiation, hormone therapy, chemotherapy, cryosurgery or biologic therapy.
![Prostate Specific Antigen [PSA]](https://www.medindia.net/images/patientinfo/300x250/prostate-specific-antigen.jpg "Prostate Specific Antigen [PSA]") Prostate Specific Antigen [PSA]PSA blood test is specific to prostate gland but not necessarily a cancer specific test but is commonly used to diagnose prostate cancer. | Advertisement
|
Recommended Readings
Latest General Health News
