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Prostate cancer screening based on the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test was given a D grade by the independent group that assesses clinical practice and advices the US government, reported Nature.
The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) now recommends that most men do not get screened via the PSA test, which measures the amount of PSA, an enzyme produced by the prostate gland, in the blood. Risk of prostate cancer increases with increasing PSA levels, but benign prostate enlargement or prostate infection can also prompt an increase in PSA serum levels. As a result, the USPSTF found, PSA screening leads to false positive diagnoses and avoidable complications from biopsies and cancer treatment that may never have been warranted. According to the USPSTF’s calculations, for ...
