More than any other cancer and representing about one-third of all cancers diagnosed among men, prostate cancer is occurs in more than 220,000 men each year. From the minute a patient is diagnosed with this cancer, they are faced with a number of difficult treatment decisions.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, researchers saw a marked initial increase in new diagnoses of prostate cancer, followed by a plateau in the incidence of the disease, most likely associated with the use of prostate-specific antigen (PSA). However, the value of PSA screening in reducing prostate cancer mortality is still questionable.

Additionally, widespread use of the PSA test in the United States since the late 1980s means many more men are living with a diagnosis of prostate cancer. The researchers note that it is possible that earlier diagnosis might not in itself mean longer survival. The question of whether PSA screening does in fact reduce mortality from prostate cancer must be answered by large-scale clinical trials.

Scientists warned that the prostate specific antigen ( PSA) test was ' all but useless' for predicting the risk of the disease becoming serious and thousands of men may have had needless surgery because the test may be flawed. But doctors still use it to test for early signs of cancer, and the discovery of raised levels of the protein PSA can lead to men having radical surgery, sometimes leaving them incontinent or impotent.

A study by experts at Stanford University Medical School of Medicine in the U.S. suggests the test can no longer be relied upon to produce accurate results. The authors declared: 'The PSA era is over.' Experts increasingly believe the test leads to needless treatment such as radiotherapy, when men could be monitored and live with the cancer without it ever causing a problem. Researchers studied prostate tissues collected over 20 years, from the time it first became standard to remove prostates in response to high PSA levels to the present.

The team, led by Professor Thomas Stamey, said in the Journal of Urology that, as a screening test, the PSA indicated nothing more than the size of the prostate gland. Professor Stamey added: 'Our study raises a very serious question of whether a man should even use the test for prostate cancer.' Cancer experts here have voiced concerns that the test could not distinguish between cancers which were 'tigers' and those which were 'pussycats', leading many men into treatments they did not need. Professor Stamey said raised levels of the protein PSA reflected only a condition known as benign prostatic hyperplasia - a harmless increase in prostate size.

Prostate Cancer Treatment From Sunshine

One specific treatment for prostate cancer brought to the "research forefront" is sunshine. According to a study, men with higher levels of vitamin D (typically obtained through sunshine exposure) in their blood were half as likely to develop aggressive forms of prostate cancer than those with lower amounts. Experiments also suggested vitamin D inhibits cell growth.

Yet despite sunshine's apparent health benefits, doctors are not entirely comfortable with prescribing the "sunshine vitamin." While many see little harm in getting the 15 minutes of exposure time a day the body needs to make enough of this vital nutrient. (It is recommended people get a daily vitamin D amount of 400 international units.) Doctors warn, however, that there must be a "happy medium" to receiving vitamin D: Too little won't do any good, while an overload can cause critical health problems such as skin cancer.

Information From HealthWorld Online (Prostate Cancer Test Is Useless, Warn Scientists) Provided by Daily Mail on 9/04 by Robin Yapp and www.Mercola.com March, 2005 (Journal of Clinical Oncology January 20, 2005; Vol. 23, 407-409 and USA Today February 2005).

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Tanning & Natural Health News is a publication of Tan Plus /Essentials Of Life, Barclay Square, 350 Route 108, Somersworth, NH. This publication is designed for educational purposes only and is not intended to be presented as medical advice. Product statements made have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration.