U.S. Guidelines Relax Opposition to Prostate Cancer Screening

An influential physician task force backed by the U.S. government is softening its opposition to routine prostate cancer screening.

In proposed guidelines released today, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force advised men aged 55 to 69 to discuss the pros and cons of screening with their doctors rather than avoiding it altogether. The task force continued to recommend against a blood test for prostate specific antigen (PSA) in men 70 and older, concluding the potential harms of routine screening still outweigh the benefits for this age group.

“Given that most prostate cancers are slow growing, and given the risks of over-diagnosis and over-treatment, there is little evidence that men 70 and older benefit from PSA screening,” said Dr. Quoc-Dien Trinh of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Prostate Cancer Program in Boston.

Source: REUTERS HEALTH NEWS APRIL 11, 2017