Health should be a concern of the highest priority for anyone, and our Black brothers have a special obligation to take care of themselves against prostate cancer.
The American Cancer Society recently made updates to its guideline for prostate cancer screening in efforts to detect the disease before it spreads. Among the key changes includes a recommendation for annual PSA-based screening beginning at 45 years old for Black men due to a culturally-recognized high risk.
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ACS put together a modeling study to accurately evaluate the benefits and harms of PSA-based screening strategies, made possible through the combined efforts of clinicians, epidemiologists, biostatisticians and patient representatives.
Take a look below at the core updates made by ACS, via the official press release:
- PSA-based screening every two years for average-risk men aged 50 to 69 years.
- Men at high risk, including Black men and non-Black men with a strong family history of prostate cancer (either a first-degree relative diagnosed before age 65, or multiple first-degree relatives diagnosed at any age), should undergo annual PSA-based screening from age 45 to 69 years.
- Non-Black men with a single first-degree relative diagnosed at age 65 or older should be screened every two years from ages 45 to 69.
- Individualized decision-making on continuing screening is recommended for men aged 70 to 74 years, as the balance of benefits and harms remains uncertain.
- Men with elevated PSA levels (3.0 ng/mL or higher for men aged 45 to 69 years, and 6.5 ng/mL or higher for men aged 70 to 74 years) should undergo repeat PSA testing between two weeks and three months.
- Men with a confirmed elevated PSA should be offered testing by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and/or a validated biomarker to guide biopsy decisions.
- Screening is not recommended for men aged 75 years and older. Some men ages 75 to 79 who are very healthy may want to continue screening, especially if their PSA has been rising on previous tests. But this should be discussed with a healthcare provider.
- Screening is not recommended for men aged 80 and older, and for men who are not expected to live another ten years.
- Men diagnosed with prostate cancer that has a low risk of growing or spreading should be offered active surveillance as the initial management option.
The updates were made following contemporary evidence gathered so far in the fight to reduce prostate cancer deaths and diagnoses of advanced-stage disease. According to Dr. William Dahut, chief scientific officer at the American Cancer Society and one of the authors in the study, it all goes back to easing the disease burden, going on to state, “Black men experience a 67% higher incidence and nearly double the mortality rate compared with White men, an inequity that needs immediate reversal.”
