Study: Too Many Doctors Recommend PSA Tests for Elderly Men

Doctors frequently recommend that men aged 75 or older have prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests despite general agreement that screening of men in this age range for prostate cancer has little benefit, according to report in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Until this study, it had not been clear whether the relatively high number of elderly men who have PSA tests -- despite lack of evidence that it improves prostate cancer mortality for men of this age -- was coming at the patients' initiative or that of the physician.

Researchers reviewing information from a nationally representative sample of 7,889 men who participated in the 2000 National Health Interview Survey found that approximately one-third of the men 75 or older had underone a PSA screening test during the preceding year.

Among elderly men who had a PSA test, 88.4 percent reported that their doctor first suggested the screening and 66.5 percent reported having a discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of the test with their doctor before the screening was performed.

"It is somewhat surprising that so many physicians would suggest screening (or be perceived as suggesting screening) in elderly men when the benefits have not even been established among younger men," the authors reported.

Other Sources: Journal of the National Cancer Institute