Volume 5 Issue 5, May 2008

Whether or not men over the age of 65 years should receive PSA screening for prostate cancer is a controversial issue. In this first of two Viewpoints on the topic, Whitson and Konety argue that men over 65 years old can have clinically relevant prostate cancer, that they can benefit from prostate cancer treatment, and that PSA screening is warranted in these men.

In this second Viewpoint on PSA testing in men over 65 years of age, Albertsen argues that, from a public health perspective, PSA screening should not be performed in these men. The author discusses the health problem of prostate cancer in this patient population, the accuracy of the PSA test, patient outcomes, and the harm associated with PSA testing.

During the past 15 years, there has been extensive international research in boys with nonpalpable testis. However, the question of what the gold-standard treatment for this disorder should be still remains. This Review assesses the current data on this disorder.

The incidence of germ-cell tumors in men is increasing in Western countries for reasons that are still unknown; however, these tumors are very curable. In this Review, the authors summarize the classification of germ-cell tumors, as well as the treatment options that are available.

Overtreatment of any disease should be avoided, but the best way to achieve this goal is not always clear. Dall'Era and Konety review active surveillance as an option for men at low risk of developing prostate cancer. They discuss recently reported experiences, modern monitoring methods and the psychosocial impact of this approach.

In this Case Study, Buchler et al. report the case of 27-year-old man who had undergone right orchiectomy for testicular seminoma and was subsequently diagnosed with intratubular germ cell neoplasia of the contralateral, atrophic, testis. The controversial issue of testicular biopsy is discussed, as is the optimum management approach in the context of fertility therapy.