Men shouldn’t be screened for prostate cancer with a common blood test, a widely followed federal advisory panel recommended on Monday. But the report isn’t likely to quell a dispute about whether the test’s risks outweigh its potential benefits.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended a “D” grade for prostate-specific-antigen, or PSA, testing which has been widely used for almost two decades to screen men for prostate cancer. Previously the task force had recommended against PSA testing for men age 75 and older. Now the recommendation extends to all ages.
A “D” rating means “there is moderate or high certainty that the service has no net benefit or that the harms outweigh the benefits,” the group’s website says. It also is a recommendation “against the service.”. . .