New, six-point statement about PSA testing issued at PCWC

This was posted on  'The New Prostate Cancer InfoLink' on the 7th August:

Posted on August 7, 2013 by Sitemaster

According to a report on the Bloomberg.com web site, attendees meeting at the Prostate Cancer World Congress (PCWC) in Melbourne, Australia have issued a new, six-point consensus statement about the use of the PSA test in the initial detection of prostate cancer.

The key points of the consensus statement are as follows:

•For men aged 50–69, there is evidence that PSA testing reduces the risk of metastatic prostate cancer and of death from prostate cancer by up to 30 percent and 21 percent, respectively.

•Prostate cancer diagnosis must be uncoupled from prostate cancer intervention through active surveillance of men with low-volume, low-risk prostate cancer.

•PSA testing should not be considered on its own but as part of a multivariable approach, including digital rectal examination, prostate volume, family history, ethnicity, and risk prediction models.

•Baseline PSA testing for men in their 40s is useful for predicting the future risk of prostate cancer, especially for those whose baseline PSA is in the highest centiles above the median

•Older men in good health with a life expectancy of more than 10 years should not be denied PSA testing on the basis of their age because a small proportion of older men may benefit from an early diagnosis of more aggressive forms of localized prostate cancer.

The “New” Prostate Cancer InfoLink concurs completely with this six-point statement. The critical issue will be whether the global urology community actually starts to act in accordance with these six points and proactively starts to help patients with clinically insignificant prostate cancer to avoid over-treatment and its consequences.

http://prostatecancerinfolink.net/2013/08/07/new-six-point-statement-about-psa-testing-issued-at-pcwc/