The Los Angeles Times (8/19, Maugh) "Booster Shots" blog reported, "Men with a family history of prostate cancer are thought to be more likely to develop the disease themselves, so it is recommended they get screened for the disease more often." Accordingly, the "frequent screenings make it more likely a prostate tumor will be found -- including tumors that are not dangerous." But, does this mean "those men with a father or brother with the disease more likely to have a tumor diagnosis because of genetics -- or because they are more likely to be screened?" A new paper in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute "suggested that the answer was: a little bit of both."
Before reaching that conclusion, investigators "analyzed data from 22,511 brothers of 13,975 prostate cancer patients and found that the incidence of the disease was higher among brothers of prostate cancer patients than men of the same age in the general population,"HealthDay (8/10, Preidt) reported. "Disease incidence was highest among men who had two brothers with prostate cancer." Investigators also concluded that the "increased diagnostic activity among men with a family history of prostate cancer, which we observed, will inflate family history as a risk factor for prostate cancer in populations of men who commonly receive PSA
George M. Suarez, M.D.
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