New prostate cancer screening guidelines unveiled

Prostate cancer is by far one of the most common cancers among males. It is for this reason that doctors are adamant and vigilant in testing males in their older age for the disease. A PSA test or prostate specific antigen test is one that a doctor uses to test for prostate cancer. Now comes word that the American Urological Association is changing their stance on when males should start getting tested for prostate cancer and how often they should be tested.

Before the new ASA recommendations it was always said that when a male reaches the age of 50 that they should start getting tested for prostate cancer and that it should be checked every one to two years. Now the ASA are saying that men should start getting tested at 40 years of age and have the test done every 10 years. These new findings have sparked a huge debate amongst the medical community.

Dr. Peter Carroll, the chair of the study by the ASA, states that while being tested is something that should be decided upon by the patient and the physician, being able to check the prostate at a young age will be able to determine if a person will likely be a candidate for prostate cancer in the future. Again, the ASA has acknowledged that any kind of testing should be consulted and agreed upon by the patient and the doctor.

The antagonists of the new study are saying that early testing and overtesting of men will not have any bearing on being able to detect if prostate cancer can be a problem. The National Cancer Institute has even gone on record and stated that the new study has no concrete evidence that early testing will prove beneficial.

The NCI says they fear that overtesting will give a false impression that there is an epidemic of prostate cancer in the United States.