Plague of Prostate Cancer

The lead article in today’s New York Times, “U.S. Panel Says No to Prostate Test for Healthy Men,” provides the latest scientific advice on a screening test for prostate cancer known as a P.S.A. blood test. Experts are now advising against the test as a routine measure for healthy men over 50 years old.

The test can detect cancerous cells, but it also provides false positives that lead to unnecessary and often dangerous medical follow ups. In addition, prostate cancer is often very slow growing, and men often succumb to other diseases.

That’s not to say that prostate cancer isn’t still a plague in our society. It’s the most common form of cancer among men after skin cancer. And one in three men generally develop it after age 50. Before then, it is very rare.

The panel’s ruling is already getting tangled up in politics. Republicans are quick to complain about healthcare rationing, and they might suggest that failure to give a P.S.A. blood test is the first sign of it. On top of that, the P.S.A. screening process has become a lucrative business, and stopping the test will have negative economic implications.

Whatever happened to those days when science was respected, and people followed scientists’ recommendations? Of course, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised when half our nation still doubts global climate change despite the unmitigated scientific evidence of its existence.