The new USPSTF guidelines take a thoughtful approach to assessing the pros and cons of PSA-based prostate cancer screening and highlight the importance of identifying subgroups who could most benefit from screening and treatment, H. Ballentine Carter, MD, wrote in an accompanying editorial.
“Patients, together with their physicians, should decide whether prostate cancer screening is right for the patient. In this regard, primary care physicians have an important role in reducing the harms associated with screening and could consider a number of factors in this decision process,” he said.
In particular, Dr. Carter noted that men aged 55-69 years without multiple comorbidities would reap the greatest benefits from screening, while those aged 70 years and older would be more susceptible to the harm associated with testing and treatment and should be screened rarely. He also endorsed a 2- to 4-year screening interval to help reduce false-positive test results and overdiagnosis.
“By virtue of their relationship with patients, primary care physicians are in a unique position to help ensure that men diagnosed with favorable-risk disease (Gleason score 6 cancer grade on biopsy, and PSA level less than 10 ng/mL) are presenting a balanced message regarding management options,” with active surveillance as the preferred choice, he said. (JAMA. 2018. May 8;319[18]:1866-8).
Dr. Carter is Bernard L. Schwartz distinguished professor of urologic oncology and professor of urology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, and had no financial conflicts to disclose.
