This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
When should men undergo PSA screening?
The most recent U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation suggests healthy men should not undergo PSA screening for prostate cancer, regardless of age.
The USPSTF says that the harms of PSA testing outweigh the benefits.
The task force based its recommendation on published data that include results of two major trials. In one major trial, PSA testing did not decrease mortality from prostate cancer. In another trial, researchers from five of the seven European countries where the study was conducted did not report statistically significant reductions in prostate cancer mortality.
Prior recommendations had called for yearly PSA screening for those at higher risk for prostate cancer, such as black men and those with a family history of the disease. The USPSTF’s most recent recommendation, however, concluded that additional research is needed “to determine whether the balance of benefits and harms of prostate cancer screening” differs in these high-risk individuals.
Despite the USPSTF’s position, other organizations — including the American Urological Association — follow the recommendation that it is the individual patient’s choice to undergo PSA screening for early detection. The AUA supports the recommendation that men aged 55 to 69 years speak with their health care provider about the potential benefits and harms of PSA testing.
According to the NCI, researchers are trying to identify ways to improve the PSA test, with a focus on the following:
- Age-specific PSA reference ranges;
- Free PSA levels compared with total PSA levels;
- PSA density of the transition zone; and
- PSA velocity and PSA doubling time.
Additional information may be found at these websites:
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/detection/PSA
https://www.auanet.org/advnews/press_releases/article.cfm?articleNo=290