Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Prostate cancer

PSA testing in older men—are we following the guidelines?

Nature Reviews Urology volume 9, pages 357–358 (2012)Cite this article

Subjects

PSA screening for prostate cancer has been a controversial topic for some time, particularly in relation to older men. In 2008, the US Preventive Services Task Force recommended against routine screening for men age 76 years or over. But have these guidelines changed screening practice? The short answer is no.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Screening for Prostate Cancer: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement. Ann. Intern. Med. 149, 185–191 (2008).

  2. Scosyrev, E., Wu, G., Golijanin, D. & Messing, E. Prostate-specific antigen testing in older men in the USA: data from the behavioral risk factor surveillance system. BJU Int. http://dx.doi:10.1111/j.1464-410X.2012.11013.x.

  3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System [online], (2012).

  4. Benoit, D. Warren Buffett diagnosed with stage 1 prostate cancer. Wall Street Journals blogs [online], (2012).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Wikipedia. Frank Zappa [online], (2012).

  6. Walter, L. C. & Covinsky, K. Cancer screening in elderly patients: a framework for individualized decision making. JAMA 285, 2750–2756 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Ketchandji, M., Yong-Fang Kuo, Y.-F., Shahinian, V. B. & Goodwin, J. S. Cause of death in older men after the diagnosis of prostate cancer. J. Am. Geriatr. Soc. 57, 24–30 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Hayes, J. H. et al. Active surveillance compared with initial treatment for men with low-risk prostate cancer: a decision analysis. JAMA 304, 2373–2380 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Dale, W., Bilir, P., Han, M. & Meltzer, D. O. The role of anxiety in prostate carcinoma: a structured review of the literature. Cancer 104, 467–478 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Chicago Medicine, 5841 South Maryland Avenue, Chicago, 60637, IL, USA

    William Dale

Authors
  1. William Dale
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Dale, W. PSA testing in older men—are we following the guidelines?. Nat Rev Urol 9, 357–358 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrurol.2012.115

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrurol.2012.115

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing: Cancer

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Cancer newsletter — what matters in cancer research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get what matters in cancer research, free to your inbox weekly. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Cancer