Baseline PSA Testing at Age 55 to 60

In a screening trial, very few men with baseline prostate-specific antigen levels <2.0 ng/mL developed clinically significant prostate cancer.

In the continued exploration of whether screening for prostate cancer with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) has clinical value, investigators performed a secondary analysis of data from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) cancer screening trial (NEJM JW Gen Med Apr 15 2009 and N Engl J Med 2009; 360:1310). Among nearly 11,000 men (age range, 55–60), baseline PSA levels were associated with the following outcomes:

The actuarial 13-year rate of developing clinically significant prostate cancer (i.e., clinical stage, ≥cT2B; Gleason score, ≥7; or prostate cancer–specific mortality) ranged from 0.4% for men with baseline PSA levels <0.5 ng/mL to 29.5% for those with baseline PSA levels ≥4.0 ng/mL.
Risk for developing clinically signi…

Reviewing Author

Thomas L. Schwenk, MD

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Thomas L. Schwenk, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Baseline PSA Testing at Age 55 to 60

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Reviewing Author