Is PSA Screening for Prostate Cancer Worthwhile?
How should men interpret the conflicting news over the value of the PSA test? Is that prostate cancer screening test worthwhile? Two clinical studies (one in the United States and one in Europe), both dealing with prostate-specific antigen screening, were recently published in the online version of the New England Journal of Medicine and have caused considerable discussion. These represent the first reports from two large, randomized trials, which many doctors and patients alike had hoped would resolve important questions about the upside and downside of PSA screening in “healthy” men, i.e., men who are being screened for primary prevention. In the United States, a very substantial proportion of men over the age of 50 undergo such screening on a routine basis. Some physicians have critiqued the publication of these studies now, as opposed to allowing the studies to unfold for a longer time span, precisely because of the uncertainty and lack of closure likely to arise among patients, do
