News & Events

Arkansas Urology speaks out against government task force that discourages PSA screenings

10/14/2011 12:00:00 AM

Cancer detection tool saves lives
Urologists speak out against government task force that discourages PSA screenings

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Large Urology Group Practice Association (LUGPA),
representing more than 1,800 urologists, encourages men to speak out to preserve prostate
cancer screenings. Last week, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended healthy
men should no longer receive prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood tests as part of routine
cancer screening.

This decision is being made by a panel that does not include urologists or oncologists.
No new research has been cited that would call for this drastic change in prostate cancer
testing recommendations since the USPSTF considered this issue in 2009.

In fact, newer studies found deaths from prostate cancer dropped 44 percent among
screened men over a 14-year period, when compared with unscreened men, and found
screening efficiency for prostate cancer similar to other cancers.

This same task force suggested mammograms were unnecessary for women ages 40-49
and recommended against teaching women breast self exams, which was soundly rejected by
Congress after public outcry.

These recommendations jeopardize the health of countless Americans and needlessly
puts in harm’s way the men who are most at risk: those who are underinsured, live in rural
areas (where health care is not readily available), have a family history of prostate cancer, and
particularly African-Americans (who have the highest incidence of and death rates from
prostate cancer). LUGPA supports current recommendations endorsing PSA screening for wellinformed
men who wish to pursue early diagnosis.

“The government has failed to safeguard our nation’s health,” said Dr. Concepcion,
LUGPA President and Director of Clinical Research at Urology Associates, P.C. in Nashville.

“Early detection is critical to the success of prostate cancer treatments and these
recommendations risk undoing 20 years of progress in reducing deaths from prostate cancer.
Even now, prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men.”
LUGPA encourages all concerned citizens to contact policymakers to demand the
government not restrict access to this life-saving testing.

About
LUGPA represents 95 large urology group practices in the United States, with more than 1,800
physicians who make up more than 20 percent of the nation’s practicing urologists. LUGPA and
its member practices are committed to best practices, research, data collection, and
benchmarking to promote quality clinical outcomes. Visit http://lugpa.org/default.aspx for
more information about LUGPA.