PSA Test Update

Expert says prostate cancer debate is inappropriately focused on PSA test.
In a letter to the editor of the New York Times (3/11), American Urological Association President Anton Bueschen, MD, responds to an op-ed that appeared in the paper on March 10. Although the group "does not advocate universal yearly PSA testing, nor does it support routine biopsy," Bueschen asserts that the "debate over prostate cancer testing is inappropriately focused on the PSA test itself, when we should be focusing on how test results are being interpreted and affecting treatment decisions."
Physician criticizes ACS recommendations for prostate exams. In a commentary in Forbes (3/12), Marc Siegel, MD, an associate professor of medicine and medical director of Doctor Radio at NYU Langone Medical Center, writes that "the growing success of prostate cancer surgery with fewer and fewer side effects, coupled with the ability to diagnose the condition earlier, makes the PSA a crucial test." Siegel argues that "the American Cancer Society completely missed the boat when last month they suggested not screening a patient until the age of 50 and de-emphasized the use of the prostate-specific antigen test and the digital rectal exam." According to Siegel, "PSA guidelines that restrict the use of the test undermine the thinking and judgment that goes into the real-life practice of medicine."