USPSTF Releases Draft Recommendation on Prostate Cancer Screening
In a newly-released draft recommendation, the USPSTF advises clinicians that the decision to screen men ages 55 to 69 for prostate cancer should be an individualized one, and should follow a discussion with patients about the benefits and harms of screening. They also advise against prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based screening for men age 70 years and older.
In order to update its 2012 recommendations, the USPSTF reviewed available evidence of the benefits and harms of PSA-based screening for prostate cancer and the treatment of screen-detected prostate cancer. A review of existing decision analysis models was also conducted.
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Based on the data from these reviews, the USPSTF issued the following draft recommendations:
- Clinicians should inform men aged 55 to 69 years about the harms and benefits of PSA-based screening, and the decision about whether to screen for prostate cancer should be an individual one (Grade C).
- Men aged 70 years and older should not undergo PSA-based screening for prostate cancer (Grade D).
In their 2012 recommendations, the USPSTF concluded that the benefits of prostate cancer screening do not outweigh the harms enough to recommend routine screening (Grade D).
“The change in recommendation grade is based in part on additional evidence that increased the USPSTF’s certainty about the reductions in risk of dying of prostate cancer and risk of metastatic disease,” they wrote.
“With the C recommendation for men ages 55 to 69 years, the USPSTF’s intention is to convey that each man’s values and preferences may shift the balance of whether there is a net benefit or a net harm of screening and to promote the importance of informed decision making prior to screening. The USPSTF continues to find that the benefits of screening do not outweigh the harms in men age 70 years and older and recommends against screening in these men.”
—Michael Potts
Reference:
Draft recommendation statement prostate cancer: screening. US Preventive Services Task Force. April 11 2017. https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/Page/Document/draft-recommendation-statement/prostate-cancer-screening1.