In 2012 the US Preventive Services Task Force recommended against routine PSA screening. This blood test measures prostate specific antigen and has been used as a way of detecting potential prostate cancer. The task force feared that this screening tool was causing a lot of unnecessary surgery and complications.
Fewer Men Are Getting PSA Screening:
The result of the new policy has been a dramatic drop in the number of men being screened for prostate cancer. There has also been a corresponding decline in the number of early prostate cancers detected. Between 2008 and 2013 the number of men getting a PSA test went from 40 percent to 30 percent.
Will There Be More Cases of Advanced Prostate Cancer?
Urologists and oncologists who treat prostate cancer are worried that they may be missing treatable cancers and in a few years they will see a spike in advanced prostate cancer cases. Only time will tell if more selective PSA screening is helpful or harmful.
