08 Oct 2011
By: POON CHIAN HUI & HIMAYA QUASEM
DOCTORS here said a blood screening test for prostate cancer remains useful, though it is not recommended as routine screening.
But it can be a lifesaver as it is the only test available that can detect an early stage of the disease, the third-most common cancer among Singaporean men after colorectal and lung.
On average, there are 534 new cases a year, and 105 deaths from prostate cancer.
In Singapore, the PSA test is recommended for men aged 50 to 75, and who have a family history of the disease or show symptoms such as trouble urinating.
The test typically costs from $40.
Among those whose test readings fall into the danger zone, only one in five is actually found to have prostate cancer, said consultant urologist Chin Chong Min of Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre.
But the test remains useful as there are no better options, said Dr Chong Yew Lam, who heads the urology department at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. “We don’t have an alternative for detecting prostate cancer as digital rectum examinations and ultrasounds are not very reliable.”
Senior consultant urologist Lewis Liew, based at Gleneagles Medical Centre, said the test can catch the cancer at a stage when it is early enough to be cured. “Usually, the cancer doesn’t show any symptoms until it is too late,” he said.
Senior consultant urologist Weber Lau of Singapore General Hospital said the test is not given to all men in the 50 to 75 age group as it could lead to many undergoing surgery even though they are cancer-free.
“Even if you have a high PSA reading, it does not mean you have cancer,” he said. “But the patient will still have to have a biopsy, which is a traumatic and invasive procedure, to find out if he has cancer.”
A Health Ministry spokesman said it is unable to comment on the findings of the US panel as they have not been officially released, but the ministry will continue to monitor the scientific evidence.
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