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April 27, 2009 -- A new recommendation that men consider prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing a decade earlier than is now the norm is being widely criticized by some of the nation's top prostate cancer experts.
The revised guidelines for men with an average risk of prostate cancer, made public today by the American Urological Association (AUA), call for baseline PSA blood testing to be offered ?starting at age 40, with the frequency of future testing to be determined on an individual basis.
The guidelines replace the group's previous call for annual PSA testing beginning at age 50.
Urologist Peter Carroll, MD, who chaired the AUA committee that came up with the new guidelines, says the change reflects the recognition that an abnormal PSA at a young age is strongly predictive of future prostate cancer risk.
" Prostate cancer testing is an individual decision that patients of any age should make in conjunction with their physicians and urologists," he says. "There is no single standard that applies to all men."
But American Cancer Society Chief Medical Officer Otis Brawley, MD, tells WebMD that the call for a baseline PSA will likely lead to more screening, not less, and more overtreatment of men who will not benefit.
The American Cancer Society no longer recommends routine PSA screening for all men. Instead, its guidelines call for doctors and patients to weigh the potential benefits and risks of screening before deciding on a course of action.
Brawley says none of the reliable studies examining PSA testing -- including two widely publicized trials reported last month -- has shown routine screening to positively affect death rates from prostate cancer.
"This [new recommendation] implies that screening for prostate cancer is more beneficial than it has been proven to be," Brawley says.
National Cancer Institute scientist Barnett Kramer, MD, MPH, was also critical of the call for earlier PSA screening, telling WebMD that the recommendation appears to ignore the latest and best research on the issue.
He says earlier, less reliable studies presented an overly positive view of the benefits of screening.
"These early studies led to a pseudo epidemic of prostate cancer and a lot of needless treatment," he says.
Carroll counters that earlier baseline PSA testing should lead to less screening because most patients will not need annual follow-up testing.
Other changes in the AUA guidelines reflect efforts to address the issue of overdetection and overtreatment, he says.
These changes include: