To the Editor: When I looked at the cover of the 5 April issue of the MJA, I feared finding another article focused on discrediting the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. Instead, I congratulate the authors, and the Journal, for presenting one of the rare balanced articles on this topic.1 Denham and colleagues called for an end to taking sides in the debate over PSA testing, and focused instead on helpful guidance.
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- Melbourne Pathology, Melbourne, VIC.
- 1. Denham JW, Bender R, Paradice WEJ. It’s time to depolarise the unhelpful PSA-testing debate and put into practice lessons from the two major international screening trials. Med J Aust 2010; 192: 393-396. <MJA full text>
- 2. Lam QT, Frydenberg M. Strategies for detecting prostate cancer. Common Sense Pathology 2009; (March): 1-8. http://www.rcpa.edu.au/static/File/Asset%20library/public%20documents/Publications/Common%20Sense%20Pathology/Prostate% 20Cancer%20-%20March%202009%20edition.pdf (accessed May 2010).
- 3. Dennis PM, Stringer MA, Sikaris KA. Causes for concern with the use of PSA assays. Med J Aust 1994; 161: 230.
- 4. Ablin RJ. The great prostate mistake. New York Times 2010; 9 Mar. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/10/opinion/10Ablin.html (accessed May 2010).
- 5. Andriole GL, Crawford ED, Grubb RL, et al. Mortality results from a randomized prostate-cancer screening trial. N Engl J Med 2009; 360: 1310-1319.
- 6. Schröder FH, Hugosson J, Roobol MJ, et al. Screening and prostate-cancer mortality in a randomized European study. N Engl J Med 2009; 360: 1320-1328.