Some Doctors Say Men Should Ask for PSA Test

New guidelines on prostate cancer screening don't supersede physician-patient relationship, experts note

May 22, 2012 RSS Feed Print

Man receiving medical scan for prostate cancer diagnosis

Until then, some physicians fear that insurance companies will cut off coverage of the PSA test, creating a devastating disparity between those who can afford to pay for it out of pocket and those who can't. The latter group likely will include minorities and senior citizens, who already are at higher risk for developing prostate cancer.

"Older black and Hispanic men are going to have increases in prostate cancer because they won't have the opportunity for early detection," D'Amico said. "So I think we should screen high-risk populations, because we know who they are."

More information

To learn more about the PSA test, visit the U.S. National Cancer Institute.