Statement From U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Now Recommends PSA Testing Based on Individual Decision

After sparking controversy in the 2012 recommendations, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) published a final guidance on May 8, recommending that men aged 55 to 69 years should make an individualized decision to undergo prostate cancer screening with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing after considering the clinical characteristics with their doctor.

The USPSTF previously recommended against routine PSA screening, saying that potential harms outweigh benefits. However, many in the healthcare industry argued that this would lead to more advanced-stage diagnoses and an increase in prostate cancer-related mortality.

The latest update is a C recommendation, meaning that “there is at least moderate certainty that the net benefit is small.”

Source: JAMA