Founder, Vipul Patel addresses the importance of PSA screening in identifying prostate cancer early
courtesy of National Archives-public domain
OJ Simpson dies after prostate cancer diagnosis: What to know about PSA screening
ByDr. Camry Kelly and Dr. Ashley Yoo
excerpt repost from: ABC News (for full article click here)
O.J. Simpson died at 76 following a diagnosis of prostate cancer, which is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths according to the American Cancer Association.
In May 2023, Simpson posted a video on X, then known as Twitter, revealing that he had recently "caught cancer" and "had to do the whole chemo thing." He added, "It looks like I beat it." Simpson didn't specify the nature of the cancer at the time.
In February, it was revealed Simpson was getting chemo for prostate cancertreatment.
Like many cancers, early detection is key. Prostate cancer can be screened for with a blood test called Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA). The goal of screening is to catch cancer before symptoms present and can be done during medical check-ups.
The good news is for most prostate cancer does not have to be life-threatening.
"A man who gets prostate cancer even if they have high risk, they are usually treatable," said Dr. Vipul Patel, Medical Director of the Global Robotics Institute, Executive Director of the Society for Robotic Surgery, and the Founder of the International Prostate Cancer Foundation
But the PSA screening test isn't perfect, and right now, screening is not recommended for everyone. The United States Preventive Services Task Force(USPSTF), which helps establish standards for screening tests, says the decision to screen people aged 55-69 for prostate cancer should be a choice between the individual and their healthcare provider.
"PSA is not the perfect test to diagnose prostate cancer, but it is the simplest test we actually have available...PSA was picking up a lot of men who had prostate cancer, but it was also picking up patients who didn't have prostate cancer," said Patel.
After a high PSA is detected, a doctor may call for a biopsy. However, there are risks of complications such as infection or bleeding. He notes that hopefully as screening technology improves with tools like MRI and other blood tests, the unnecessary harm will also decrease.
When making the decision of when to screen someone for prostate cancer, clinicians also consider the risk of someone developing prostate cancer. Some groups, including Black Americans, have a higher risk. Black men and women are more likely to die from prostate, uterine and breast cancer compared to other races, according to recent data from the American Cancer Society.