Panel: Don't Get PSA Prostate Cancer Screen

Harm Outweighs Benefit of Routine Prostate Cancer Screening, Task Force Says

May 21, 2012 -- Men should not get routine PSA tests to screen for prostate cancer, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force today reaffirmed.

The USPSTF is the independent panel that sets U.S. cancer-screening policy. Last October, the group released a draft report finding that men get far more harm than benefit from routine PSA tests.

That set off howls of protests from many urologists and some patient groups that strongly support routine PSA screening. Would the USPSTF back down? No. Today's final decision fully adopts the draft report.

"The task force has not changed its final conclusion," task force co-chair Michael LeFevre, MD, MSPH, tells WebMD. "Many men will be harmed by prostate cancer screening. Very few will benefit. The benefits do not outweigh the harms, and therefore we do not recommend screening."

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View US Preventative Services Task Force's Current Recommendation