Aug. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Prostate-cancer screening for men 75 or older may not be necessary because the benefits of early detection don't outweigh the potential side effects of treatment, a U.S. advisory panel said.

``Insufficient'' evidence exists to say whether regular screening helps men younger than 75 either, the Preventive Services Task Force said in a statement in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Those men should discuss risks, such as a family history of cancer, and benefits with their doctors, the panel said.

Routine blood testing for prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, has been the subject of debate, with advocates of screening saying it saves lives and opponents arguing that prostate cancer often grows so slowly that it doesn't merit treatment.

``Most prostate cancer grows very slowly, and many men with prostate cancer die of something else before the prostate cancer causes a problem,'' the task force said. ``Early detection, however, puts men at risk for unnecessary worry and side effects of treatments,'' including impotence, incontinence and bowel problems.

In 2002, the panel said there wasn't enough evidence about the costs and benefits of the test. After reviewing 10 studies done in the interim, the task force yesterday said there still wasn't enough evidence to give definitive advice in all cases.

``Larger, longer-term studies are urgently needed,'' the task force said.

Prostate cancer is the second-most common malignancy among men in the U.S., after skin cancer, and the second-leading killer for men, after lung tumors, according to the Atlanta-based American Cancer Society. An estimated 27,050 men died of the disease in 2007, according to the cancer society.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Nussbaum in New York anussbaum1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 5, 2008 00:01 EDT