Panel Confirms Rejection of Routine PSA

An expert panel has stuck with its controversial advice that most older men should not get routine screening for prostate cancer. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said last fall that prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening does more harm than good. A high test reading can indicate prostate cancer. But PSA can go up for other reasons. Only a biopsy can tell if cancer exists. Some prostate cancers can be deadly. But most grow so slowly they never cause harm. Men who get treated may have problems with sexual function and urine control. Urologists, who treat men with prostate cancer, protested the task force’s statement last fall. But the panel was not persuaded. The advice issued May 21 said that there’s little or no evidence that routine PSA tests save lives. The task force said men should be able to get a test if they want one.