OBJECTIVES: To provide clarity on the pros and cons of using prostate-specific antigen (PSA) as a screening tool for prostate cancer.
METHODS: Case scenarios and a literature review of recently published clinical trial data are presented to provide evidence of the controversy.
RESULTS: PSA is a sensitive biomarker for detecting diseases of the prostate, but it is limited in its ability to distinguish cancerous from noncancerous conditions or aggressive from indolent cancers and has resulted in a considerable amount of overdiagnosis and overtreatment.
CONCLUSIONS: The analytical methodology for total PSA testing is both reliable and cost-effective, but patients should be encouraged to talk to their providers to understand the benefits and harms associated with this testing.
Written by:
Noguez JH, Fantz CR. Are you the author?
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA.
Reference: Am J Clin Pathol. 2014 Jul;142(1):7-15.
doi: 10.1309/AJCPU6OOKL9JHEUR
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 24926079
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