Prostate Cancer News:

Researchers Say Annual PSA Tests May Be Unnecessary for Many

Men whose screening tests for prostate cancer detect a very low prostate specific antigen (PSA) level may safely opt not to be retested every year, and may be able to go up to five years between screenings, according to researchers.

Dr. E. David Crawford of the University of Colorado told the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting that 98.6 percent of the men in a large study who had a PSA less than 1 continued to have a PSA of under 4 five years later.

Crawford said 98.8 percent of men with a PSA level between 1 and 2 also had a PSA of under 4 when retested the following year.

A PSA level of 4 is currently the threshold at which many doctors order a biopsy to determine if the person being tested has prostate cancer.

"We found that the vast majority of men whose initial PSA levels are very low do not need to worry that they will skyrocket withon one year," Crawford said.

"In men that choose to be screened, if your initial PSA is less than 1, you can look at being screened every five years," Crawford said. "If your initial PSA is less than two, you can look at being screened every two years."

The researchers said a strategy of PSA screening every five years for men with PSA below 1 and every two years for men with PSA in the 1 to 2 range would produce a 55 percent reduction in the number of PSA tests conducted each year.

The researchers recommended, however, increased vigilance for men with a PSA level between 2 and 4. They said one-quarter of men with these readings will find that their PSA has risen above the threshold of 4 within one year, and 83 percent of these men will find their PSA level is over 4 within four years.

Source: Prostate Cancer Week of May 26, 2002