Prostate cancer news 2015: rates on a decline but are experts being too lenient? See details here!

Today, there are less American men diagnosed with prostate cancer in the United States. But, while the decline can be seen as a welcome development, two studies by the American Cancer Society (ACS) have also hinted that it may not be necessary because there are fewer men having prostate cancer; and it could only pose more health risk in the long run.

This decrease in numbers could only be for the reason that there were also fewer men who undergo screening for the disease, according to the new studies published Nov. 17 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) issued a warning back in 2012 against the prostate-specific antigen or PSA test, which has been the screening used to help detect early signs of prostate cancer among men who are 50 years old and above. The USPSTF panel said that the screening could actually have a negative effect on the men, the CBS News reported.

The researchers said that men who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer in its early stages often undergo treatment involving surgery and radiation that can cause side effects such as impotence or incontinence (the loss of control in urination or defecation). This is considering that, most of the time, prostate cancer can develop very gradually and may never come to that point where it becomes fatal.

"The decline in incidence and the decline in the proportion of men getting screened likely means that doctors and patients are beginning to understand that it's not known whether prostate cancer screening saves lives," said Dr. Otis Brawley, the chief medical officer for the ACS.

The researchers of one of the studies from the ACS found that in 2008, 41 percent of US men (50 years old and above) that had PSA testing in the past year. But after the USPSTF began advising against routine PSA test, the number was down to 38 percent in 2010 and 31 percent in 2013.

The problem here is that patients who might have early stages of treatable cancer are not getting screened and could get to that point in the future when diagnosis is too late because cancer has already become incurable, according to NBC News.

Research lead author Ahmedin Jemal said that the results are a double-edged sword. "We may be reducing overdiagnosis and overtreatment... but we also may be missing opportunities to detect [life-threatening] cancer. That's the dilemma with PSA testing," he said.