ACP: Perform PSA test only when patient expresses ‘clear preference’

Physicians should discuss the benefits and risks of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests with their patients and only perform the screening test if the patient then clearly prefers to have it done, according to a recent guidance statement from the American College of Physicians (ACP).

 

The ACP guidance statement, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, directs physicians to discuss with age- and risk-appropriate patients “the limited potential benefits and substantial harms of screening for prostate cancer.”

 

PSA screenings should not be performed for average-risk males younger than 50 or older than 69, or for any male whose life expectancy is less than 10-15 years, the ACP guidance adds.

 

The ACP developed their guidance statement after assessing current prostate cancer screening guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the American Cancer Society, the American Urological Association and the American College of Preventive Medicine.