What are the Downsides to Overdiagnosing Prostate Cancer in Men?
“It’s one of the biggest concerns that men have in proactively seeking healthcare,” Dr. George says. “They’re more likely to undergo treatment for this disease if they’re getting screened because (clinicians are) more likely to find it.”
Some of those men, he says, are going to undergo treatment for disease that won’t ultimately kill them, but may cause complications the men shouldn’t have had at all or otherwise may have had later.
“Overtreatment is a real concern. That’s why active surveillance is so important to minimize overtreatment of patients by finding out which cancers are low risk for progression and which are becoming more aggressive,” Dr. George says.
Authors of the study write that “the potential for overdiagnosis and the subsequent psychological and physical impact of diagnosis and treatment is an important consideration.”
All authors of the new paper received financial support from Cancer Research UK, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Higgins family for the submitted work.
Dr. George reports no relevant financial relationships.
Dr. Kishan reports consulting fees and speaking honoraria from Varian Medical Systems, Janssen, and Boston Scientific; research funding from PointBioPharma, Lantheus, and Janssen; and serving on advisory boards for Lantheus, Janssen and Boston Scientific.