NYTimes: PSA tests overblown

[unixronin]

Op-ed column in the New York Times by Dr. Richard J. Ablin, who discovered prostate-specific antigen in 1970 and laid the groundwork for the PSA test:

The medical community is slowly turning against P.S.A. screening.  Last year, The New England Journal of Medicine published results from the two largest studies of the screening procedure, one in Europe and one in the United States.  The results from the American study show that over a period of 7 to 10 years, screening did not reduce the death rate in men 55 and over.

The European study showed a small decline in death rates, but also found that 48 men would need to be treated to save one life.  That’s 47 men who, in all likelihood, can no longer function sexually or stay out of the bathroom for long.