Private MD News

American Urological Association recommends PSA tests at age 40

Updated: 2009-05-22 22:28:30 CST Category: Prostate

The American Urological Association (AUA) has issued new guidelines on prostate cancer screening, recommending that well-informed men aged 40 years or older who have a life expectancy of at least 10 years should be offered the PSA test.

"Prostate cancer comes in many forms, some aggressive and some not," said Dr Peter Carroll, chair of the panel that developed the AUA guidelines. "But the bottom line about prostate cancer testing is that we cannot counsel patients about next steps for cancer that we do not know exist."

The new clinical guidance statement is based on a panel review of all available professional literature, members' clinical experience and expert opinion.

Since the future risk of prostate cancer is closely related to a man's PSA score, a baseline PSA level above the median for age 40 is a strong predictor of prostate cancer according to the AUA. In their statement, they propose that early baseline testing may allow for earlier detection of more curable cancers and also provide opportunity for more efficient testing.

"The single most important message of this statement is that prostate cancer testing is an individual decision," said Carroll. "There is no single standard that applies to all men, nor should there be at this time."

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