Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
In Shift From Earlier Prostate Screening Guidelines, Task Force Says Men Should Do What Feels Right For Them
The Associated Press: US Panel Leaves Prostate Screening Up To Men, Their Doctors
Whether to get screened for prostate cancer is a question that men aged 55 to 69 should decide themselves in consultation with their doctors, according to finalized guidance issued Tuesday by an influential panel of health care experts. New evidence suggests that PSA blood tests can slightly reduce the chances of dying from the disease for some men, so those decisions may be a little easier. Though screening can sometimes lead to drastic, needless treatment, the panel says that can sometimes be avoided with close monitoring when cancer is detected. (5/8)
Los Angeles Times: Experts Have New Advice On Prostate Cancer Screening. Here's Why They Put It Back On The Table
For men 70 and older, the task force stuck with an earlier recommendation against routine prostate cancer screening. The new guidance for men in late middle age is an unusual reversal of advice the panel offered in 2012. At that time, the task force suggested that for most men at any age, getting screened for prostate cancer just wasn't worth the risks — including anxiety, infection, erectile dysfunction and incontinence — of the unnecessary treatment that too often came with it. (Healy, 5/8)
