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USPSTF Officially Advises Against Routine Prostate Cancer Screening
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is officially recommending against routine PSA-based screening for prostate cancer in men of all ages (grade D recommendation). The statement, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, follows the group's much-debated draft recommendation released last October.
One Annals commentator, an oncologist in support of the guidance, writes, "it is my hope that the current USPSTF recommendation ends mass screening," as the "harms are well-proven" and "the evidence of benefit is weak."
On the other side of the debate, a group of specialists and primary care providers say they believe the USPSTF "either overlooked or misinterpreted the effect of significant methodological flaws in the 2 major clinical trials of screening." They suggest that clinicians "review the evidence, follow the continuing dialogue closely, and individualize prostate cancer screening decisions on the basis of informed patient preferences."
LINK(S):
Annals of Internal Medicine recommendation statement (Free)
Annals of Internal Medicine commentary supporting the guidance (Free)
Annals of Internal Medicine commentary against the guidance (Free)
Journal Watch General Medicine coverage of USPSTF's 2011 draft recommendation (Free)
Published in Physician's First Watch May 22, 2012
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- Informed patients
Ian Arnold, U of Ottawa, Canada, 22 May 2012 12:28 PM EST
Specialty: Family Medicine
And who is going to inform patients: the advocates whose mantra is 'screening saves lives', the patients who have had... [more]
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