Reuters Health - NEW YORK |
Doctors should
discuss prostate cancer screening with men who have at least 10 years
left to live, one of the country's largest groups of cancer doctors said
Monday.
But men with a poorer outlook
should generally avoid screening with the blood test for
prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, according to the American Society of
Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
"Screening should be discussed with men who
have a longer life expectancy, so that men can make an informed
decision," said Dr. Ethan Basch, a prostate cancer specialist and
co-chair of the ASCO panel.
The new
advice, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, comes on the
heels of a blanket recommendation against prostate cancer screening from
the government-backed U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
When
the USPSTF's guidelines were released last May, they triggered an
outcry from many cancer specialists and urologists who felt the move
could be a death sentence for scores of men across the country.
Dr.
Michael LeFevre of the USPSTF stressed the similarities between the two
sets of recommendations, but said his organization took a slightly
stronger stance against the test.
"We
are actually not suggesting that physicians bring up screening with
men," he told Reuters Health. If a patient wants the test after getting
adequate information about the pros and cons, however, LeFevre said he
has no qualms with it.
Read the full Reuters Health report
