Tag: pre-psa

A virtual firestorm erupted in 2011 with the publication of the US Preventive Services Task Force’s draft recommendation that healthy men should no longer receive a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) blood test to screen for prostate cancer because "the test does not save lives overall and often leads to more tests and treatments that needlessly cause pain, impotence, and incontinence," as reported in the New York Times. The final version of the USPSTF recommendation was released in May 2012. The American Urologic Association recommends that men ages 55 to 69 talk with their doctors about having a PSA test. Men who are African American or have a familial history of prostate cancer should consider being tested starting at age 40.