21st Century Oncology's Vladimir Ioffe, MD Urges For More Prostate Cancer Screenings Despite Government's View That 'It's Unnecessary'

GREENBELT, Md., April 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Vladimir Ioffe, MD, a radiation oncologist at 21st Century Oncology, in collaboration with Navin Shah, MD, Thomas Huebner, MD, and Ivelina Hristova, BA, conducted and published research that strongly supports PSA screening (Prostate-Specific Antigen) for African American men, men with a family history of prostate cancer, and healthy men aged 70 to 80 years old.

Despite the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) deeming in 2012 that routine PSA screenings were unnecessary, there has been a 9% increase in the detection of aggressive prostate cancer. This suggests that some cases were diagnosed much later than they should have been due to a lack of screening.

"Our study shows that the current USPSTF prostate cancer screening recommendations are harmful and result in later-stage prostate cancer detection," said Dr. Ioffe. "We are seeing more late-stage diagnoses with more aggressive prostate cancer and in non-curable stages. We strongly believe that PSA based prostate cancer screening should be cleared, recommended, and endorsed, especially for high-risk men."

Following the USPSTF's recommendation against prostate cancer screening, Dr. Ioffe and his team found that the number of biopsies that were performed to screen for prostate cancer had decreased by 30%. Although fewer biopsies were performed, however, the prostate cancer detection rate doubled.  

It is estimated that if prostate cancer screening is discontinued, over 6,000 additional deaths related to prostate cancer will occur annually in the United States.

About 21^st Century Oncology
21st Century Oncology is the nation's largest integrated cancer care network. Operating as one dream team in the crusade against cancer, the company carries out its mission with the mindset of "fighting for patients like an army and caring for them like a family". 21st Century Oncology employs or is affiliated with nearly 1,000 physicians globally to deliver the most advanced, integrated and compassionate cancer care in personal and convenient settings. Headquartered in Fort Myers, FL, 21st Century Oncology operates 165 treatment centers, including 130 centers located in 15 U.S. states. In addition, the company operates 35 centers located in eight countries in Latin America. For more information, please visit https://www.21co.com.

Media Contact: Samantha Scott, APR
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SOURCE 21st Century Oncology