MEN : PROSTATE CANCER TESTS IMPROVE FOR AFRICAN-AMERICANS.Byline: Patricia Anstett Knight-Ridder Tribune News Wire Alarmed that a current test misses thousands of cases of prostate cancer prostate cancer, cancer originating in the prostate gland. Prostate cancer is the leading malignancy in men in the United States and is second only to lung cancer as a cause of cancer death in men. in African-American men, doctors say they believe they have a more reliable way to diagnose the cancer in nearly all black men. A study in last week's New England Journal of Medicine The New England Journal of Medicine (New Engl J Med or NEJM) is an English-language peer-reviewed medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. It is one of the most popular and widely-read peer-reviewed general medical journals in the world. showed, for the first time, that African-American men's measurements in the PSA (Professional Services Automation) An information system designed to organize, track and manage all opportunities, work, resources, costs, revenues and invoices to improve the productivity and efficiency of the workforce. (prostate-specific antigen prostate-specific antigen n. Abbr. PSA A protease secreted by the epithelial cells of the prostate gland. Serum levels are elevated in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer. ) test differ according to their age, as they do for white men. The age-adjusted PSA test found 41 percent more prostate cancer in a group of more than 5,200 African-American men than would have been expected, researchers report. It missed cancer only about 5 percent of the time - an accuracy rate better than those for mammograms and pap smears. The finding is significant because African-American men have a higher incidence of prostate cancer, develop it earlier and are twice as likely to die from it as white men, Dr. Joseph Oesterling, chief urologist at the University of Michigan (body, education) University of Michigan - A large cosmopolitan university in the Midwest USA. Over 50000 students are enrolled at the University of Michigan's three campuses. The students come from 50 states and over 100 foreign countries. , said recently. He wrote an editorial explaining the PSA research in this week's edition of the journal and did the 1993 benchmark research suggesting that age is an important factor in interpreting PSA for white men. Subsequent studies established age measurements for Asian men, he said. (The scale for white men is used for Latino men.) Prostate cancer is the leading cause of cancer in American men. It will be diagnosed in an estimated 317,000 American men this year. African-American men have the highest rate of the cancer in the world, according to the American Cancer Society American Cancer Society, n.pr established in 1913, this national volunteer-based health organization is committed to the elimination of cancer through prevention and treatment and to diminishing cancer suffering through advocacy, scholarship, research, . No one knows why the cancer occurs more often, earlier, or may be deadlier among African-American men. The cancer society and two other leading medical groups recommend that African-American men - and any man with a family history of prostate cancer - have a PSA test and a digital rectal examination Digital rectal examination A routine screening test that is used to detect any lumps in the prostate gland or any hardening or other abnormality of the prostate tissue. for prostate cancer annually beginning at age 40. For others, 50 is the recommended age to begin prostate cancer testing. But because the PSA test can be wrong, not all groups and doctors recommend it. The controversy has forced researchers to find better ways to decide which men need further tests. |
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