New PSA Guidelines

More than 33,000 U.S. men die annually from prostate cancer. For years, men have been urged to get a blood test looking for a prostate-specific antigen or PSA, which can be elevated by prostate cancer. But, in 2012, the United States Preventative Services Task Force urged doctors not to routinely screen men for prostate cancer because the risk of false positives and treatments for the generally slow-growing cancer could do more harm than good.

In a recent article, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, that same independent panel of experts, who provide advice to the American public about preventive health, — finalized an update to those recommendations. Dr. Benjamin Lowentritt, a urologist and director of robotic surgery at GBMC, explains the current change in recommendations.