By Andy Choi
A ten-year research study on prostate cancer conducted in Europe, contributed to the development of prostate cancer screening blood test called the prostate-specific antigen (PSA).
DR. SAMADI Dr. Samadi is the Vice Chairman, Department of Urology, and the Chief of Robotics and Minimally Invasive Surgery at The Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. As a board-certified urologist and an oncologist specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of urologic diseases, kidney cancer, bladder cancer, and prostate cancer, he also specializes in many advanced minimally invasive treatments for prostate cancer, including his newest robotic surgery procedure, SMART Surgery.
A report by the researchers stated that the deaths caused by prostate cancer reduced to 38% for those who involve PSA screenings for prostate cancer. Analysis was conducted on 160,000 patients, between 1991 and 2011, who took PSA tests regularly and those not involved in the test. The patients who experienced PSA tests showed average death rate as low as 21%. However, in the last two years, the death rate lowered to 38%.
The research study included men aged from 55-69, from eight European countries such as Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Finland, France, Switzerland and Spain. For the first time, these patients were subjected to positive diagnosis through a PSA blood test and subsequent digital rectal exam (DRE).
According to the Chief of Robotics and Minimally Invasive Surgery at The Mount Sinai Medical Center, Dr. David Samadi, the survival of prostate cancer patients can be extended through early diagnosis. The study conducted by the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer offered encouragement to Dr.Samadi.
The new approach about PSA expands across the U.S. The experts feel that the outcome of repeated annual testing will give rise to over-diagnosis and over-treatment. However, some prostate cancers with gradual proliferation capacity cause no harm in the body. Dr.Samadi says that the skill and proficiency of a surgical expert, besides robotic capability is equally necessary for successful results.
Source: http://www.roboticoncology.com/