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Public release date: 23 February 2010
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Study to evaluate risk of suicide among prostate cancer patients
In the beginning of the 1990s the introduction of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing as a screening tool for early
detection of
prostate cancer in men (PCa) drastically increased the detection of PCa. An unexpected consequence was the fact
that the risk of suicide is increased among prostate cancer patients. A nation-wide study was carried out in Sweden
aiming to evaluate the risk of suicide among
men diagnosed with prostate cancer subsequent to PSA testing.
Several previous studies have shown that there is a high anxiety level among screeners in various screening programs
and the anxiety related to a crisis reaction may develop into a depression. However, men who underwent PSA testing in
Sweden at the time represent an opportunistic screening population and not a true population-based screening program
by invitation. Therefore, as in most countries, they may have been more health conscious, more prepared to accept
the potential side effects of curative treatment than the general population and, by consequence, less prone to
develop depression.
The study results are published in the March issue of European Urology, the scientific journal of the European
Association of Urology (EAU).
Study concluded that there was no evidence for an increased risk of suicide among male patients diagnosed with early
nonpalpable PCa detected by PSA testing. However, The suicide rate was found twice as high among men diagnosed with
locally advanced or metastatic disease compared with the general male population. More follow ups are interested
in order to focus on the need to identify signs of depression among this
category of patients diagnosed with prostate cancer.
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