Prostate cancer is the most common cancer found in American men.
The only type of cancer more common than prostate cancer is skin cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. Symptoms of prostate cancer are usually minimal, or not experienced at all.
This common cancer is treatable when caught early, with a near 100% five-year survival rate for cancers that haven’t spread beyond the prostate or have only spread to nearby areas, per the American Cancer Society.
While a PSA screening has the potential to reduce the risk of death, negatives listed by the task force include “false-positive results that require additional testing and possible prostate biopsy; overdiagnosis and overtreatment; and treatment complications, such as incontinence and erectile dysfunction.”
They do not recommend PSA screening in men ages 70 and above.
PSA testing is a way to diagnose prostate cancer. (iStock)
“Proper use of PSA is what I recommend from an early detection standpoint,” Kantoff said.
Symptoms shouldn’t be the motivating factor for screening, he said, saying it should instead be a decision in one’s 40s about whether PSA testing should be done. He recommended that those with family history or people of African American descent think about early detection.
An analysis of previous clinical trials published in 2017 said screening lessened the risk of dying from prostate cancer by 25 to 32% compared to men who didn’t get screened, a summary for patients explains online.
7. Is prostate cancer curable?
Prostate cancer is curable, but many men choose not to treat it because of the typically slow progression and the fact that it usually stays in the prostate, according to Cleveland Clinic.
More severe cases of cancer are usually treated through radiation or surgery.
The Associated Press contributed reporting, as did Andy Sahadeo and Zoe Szathmary.
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Ashlyn Messier is a writer for Fox News Digital.Â