When should prostate-specific antigen testing be stopped?
February 22nd, 2009 Posted in prostate cancer diagnosisThe optimal approach to prostate cancer screening remains controversial.
Because PSA screening can find cancers that may become life-threatening in 5 to 25 years, there has been increased usage of the test in 40 to 50-year-olds. But the test can also discover cancers that never become life-threatening, perhaps in up to 30% of the cases. Many men who are older than 75 undergo continued PSA screening, potentially leading to unnecessary treatment since death from other causes is more likely than death from prostate cancer.
In a study published in the April 2009 issue of The Journal of Urology, researchers doncluded that in a subgroup of elderly men, among those who were 75 years old or older and had a PSA below 3 ng/ml (nanograms per milliliter), none subsequently died of prostate cancer. The discontinuation of routine PSA screening in these men may not increase the rates of undetected lethal disease, and could avoid potentially unnecessary treatments and reduce diagnostic costs.