Prostate Cancer Screening Test (PSA)…A Waste of Time!

  • No level of Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) completely excludes prostate cancer.
  • The prevalence of undiagnosed prostate cancer at autopsy is high and increases with age (> 40% among men aged 40-49 yr to > 70% among men aged 70-79 yr)
  • Only a small proportion of men with prostate cancer have symptoms or die from the disease; most prostate cancers are slowly progressive and NOT LIFE THREATENING.
  • Screening with the PSA test may lead to a small reduction in prostate cancer death but NOT a reduction in all-cause death rate.

The PSA test should NOT be used for screening without a detailed discussion with the patient, ideally with the use of decision aids to facilitate comprehension.

EMKF

Emergency Medicine Kenya Foundation (EMKF) is a not-for-profit (NGO) public benefit organisation registered in Kenya