The Imperfect PSA...Medical Ethics and The Fraud Behind Robotic Prostatectomy

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla., Sept. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A prominent Florida urologist questions the ethics as well as the place of the scientifically unproven robotic prostatectomy for the treatment of localized prostate cancer. In addition, he believes that the use of PSA derivatives and kinetics, instead of using the total PSA, may minimize particularly the evaluation of men with a commonly false-positive PSA.

"This very basic but well-known healthcare concern represents a major ongoing ethical challenge for all physicians and their patients," said Dr. Bert Vorstman, a Coral Springs, Florida-based urologist with nearly 30 years experience in prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment.  "Recent scientific evidence questioning the merits of surgical treatment for prostate cancer as well as the reliability of traditional PSA blood screening and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force's (USPSTF) decision to uphold its original non-recommendation for using the total PSA test as a general screening tool, should send a loud and clear buyer beware message to the general public."

Dr. Vorstman, an outspoken patient advocate and a critic of over-diagnosis and over-treatment of low risk prostate cancers, especially with the unproven robotic prostatectomy approach, offers newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients and their families a must read overview and reality check in his recently released essay entitled The Imperfect PSA, The Fraudulent Robotic Prostatectomy and Medical Ethics, which can be found at http://www.urologyweb.com/urology/mens-health/exclusive-medical-reports.html.

This important resource tool reveals several harmful and life-altering problems related to radical surgery/robotic prostatectomy and refines criteria for who should really seek PSA testing, covering such areas as healthy life span, family history, obesity, African heritage, and low serum testosterone in particular.

Dr. Vorstman agrees with the USPSTF report in that they indicate that the current surgical excision treatment of screen-detected prostate cancer is not the answer particularly because of the associated harm and absence of significant effect on prostate cancer-specific mortality with this robotic prostatectomy treatment.

Said Dr. Vorstman: "Instead, I recommend using PSA derivatives and kinetics for the screening of men at risk and then in those with concern for prostate cancer considering a multi-parametric 3T MRI of the prostate for targeted needle biopsies of suspicious areas. Significant localized lesions may be treated with focal therapy while small volume, low-grade, low-risk prostate cancer or pre-cancerous findings are treated with active-surveillance."

This extensive look at The Imperfect PSA joins with a series of articles written by Dr. Vorstman detailing the truths, myths and marketing manipulations behind prostate screening and treatment options.

To contact Dr. Vorstman, please call 877-783-4438 or for prostate cancer treatment options go to http://www.urologyweb.com/urology/mens-health/prostate-cancer.html.

SOURCE Dr. Bert Vorstman