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Urologists 'Outraged' Over PSA Test Challenge
American Urological Association President Sushil S. Lacy, MD, said in prepared remarks that he was "outraged" by the report. "It is inappropriate and irresponsible to issue a blanket statement against PSA testing, particularly for at-risk populations such as African-American men," Lacy said. "Men who are in good health and have more than 10-15 years life expectancy should have the choice to be tested and not discouraged from doing so."
A similar statement was issued this week by the American Association of Clinical Urologists, which called the USPSTF recommendations "misleading and harmful." The major urological associations say the USPSTF ignored new studies supporting the value of PSA tests, and that the panel refused to address concerns they raised about the conclusions during the comment period. In addition, the urologists complain that there were no urologists or oncologists on the panel.
Siegel, who is also the president and CEO of Maryland-based Chesapeake Urology Associates, says urologists have long understood that the PSA test can lead to a high percentage of false positives, but he said that doesn't mean the test should be discounted.
"It is just a screening test, one of several things we look at when we decide whether a man needs a biopsy or not," he says.
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Comments are moderated. Please be patient.
tyco brahe (5/24/2012 at 11:06 AM)
If this objective panel looked at the data and found that the test doesn't work as a screening tool for a population, why are urologists fighting it? How much money do urologists and the test manufacturers going to lose?
Susan Ward (5/24/2012 at 10:24 AM)
This is another ploy by the federal government to eliminate payments under Medicare. With this kind of reporting, the next step will be Medicare not paying for screening PSA tests. There is a similar movement against screening mammography. It is all part of a larger plan aimed at decreasing Medicare payments.
Jonathan Raven (5/24/2012 at 9:51 AM)
Gee, at least you could have had the guts to have used the headline "Urologists 'Pissed' Over PSA Test Challenge".