Treatment of approximately three men with prostatectomy or seven men with radiation therapy instead of watchful waiting would each result in one additional case of erectile dysfunction, the review revealed. Similarly, treatment of five men with prostatectomy instead of watchful waiting would result in one additional case of urinary incontinence.
"Everybody wants to believe that PSA screening saved their lives. Well, it may work for some men, but the problem is we cannot tell which men it works for," Dr. Lichtenfeld said. "And it clearly does not work well enough for enough men that it justifies a uniform recommendation that requires men to be screened."
"I don’t believe PSA screening is going to go away," he said. "But I do believe doctors and patients are going to have more appropriate discussions about the potential value." For more of Dr. Lichtenfeld’s perspective, see his blog post.
Dr. Lichtenfeld had no relevant financial disclosures. Dr. Chou received a research grant and travel support from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which funded the systematic review study.