Doctor: Ignoring High Psa May Give Rise To Medical Malpractice Claim

With respect to prostate cancer there are two tests that are used to screen for the cancer before any symptoms surface. The idea is to detect the cancer early - before it is able to spread while treatment is likely to cure the cancer rather than wait until the cancer progresses and spreads and is no longer curable. The first is a physical examination of the prostate gland for any abnormalities that might be the result of prostate cancer. The second is a blood test known as the PSA test. An abnormally high result signifies the chance of prostate cancer.

Raised PSA test results can, though, be attributable to reasons different from cancer, like inflammation of the prostate or infection. Such high PSA readings are called “false positives.” There are also possible dangers correlated with biopsies, such as excessive bleeding and infection. Stating the possibility of false positive PSA results and the issues related to biopsies, some physicians take a “watchful waiting” position, by which the man's high PSA is followed over the course of several months or years. They may additionally suggest going on medication for infection to see whether the treatment brings down the PSA.

One of the problems with this strategy is that a physician may wait too long before advocating a biopsy. When waiting leads to the metastasis of the cancer to areas outside the prostate capsule then the patient will lose the chace for a cure For men whose cancer is discovered while it is still contained within the gland, the probability is better than 90% that they will continue to be alive 5 years beyond diagnosis. The number is lower for the more aggressive forms of prostate cancer. This measure is referred to as the 5-year survival rate.

Treatment options for advanced prostate cancer may include hormone therapy, radiation therapy, orchiectomy , and possibly chemotherapy. Treatment will usually cause the PSA to drop significantly for some time. In time, treatment may cease to be effective and the cancer will again continue to advanced. Once the treatment no longer works, the cancer again starts spreading and eventually kills the man. As of the time this article was written roughly 90,000 men a year are expected to pass away in the U.S. as a result of prostate cancer metastasis.

It is for this reason that doctors generally advocate that a biopsy should be performed in case a man's blood test reveals a PSA level above 4. ng/ml. A biopsy is a procedure, ordinarily performed using local anesthesia, whereby a probe is inserted into the rectum. The probe has a needle which is used to take samples of the prostate tissue. Since the biopsy only takes samples, it is possible that the biopsy may produce a false negative, missing the cancer. This is why physicians also normally recommend that biopsies be redone should the PSA levels remain elevated, even after treatment for other possible causes.

By taking a “watchful waiting” approach and only monitoring a male patient’s elevated PSA, a doctor puts the patient at risk of not doing anything about the cancer until it gets to an advanced, possibly untreatable, stage. This may amount to a departure from the standard of medical care and may lead to a medical malpractice matter.

By: J. Hernandez

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Joseph Hernandez is an attorney accepting medical malpractice cases. To learn about prostate cancer and other cancer matters including colon cancer metastasis visit the websites