Richard Harris, MD, urologist, UroPartners, discusses the respective roles of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing and active surveillance in the treatment of patients with prostate cancer.

PSA screening represents the main method for early detection in prostate cancer. There will be approximately 180,000 to 200,000 newly diagnosed cases this year alone, highlighting the importance of PSA testing as a main tool for early detection.

The issue, then, is not necessarily whether or not PSA testing should be performed, but if a patient should have a biopsy and find prostate cancer, what the next course of action is, and who exactly should receive treatment. To not perform PSA testing, says Harris, would possibly condemn several more men to present with advanced disease, for which there is no cure for yet.

According to Harris, many urologists feel that physicians have generally been overly aggressive in their treatment approaches in prostate cancer in the past several years. Since learning from those mistakes, oncologists in this space are now observing many of these patients once they are diagnosed. Harris says as many as 30% to 50% of patients with prostate cancer can be put onto this active surveillance track before they are administered aggressive therapies.

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Richard Harris, MD, urologist, UroPartners, discusses the respective roles of PSA testing and active surveillance in the treatment of patients with prostate cancer.

Dr. Harris on PSA Testing and Active Surveillance in Prostate Cancer

Richard Harris, MD, urologist, UroPartners, discusses PSA testing for patients with prostate cancer and the controversial grade D recommendation of the United States Task Force.

 There were no urologists, medical oncologists, or radiologists on the US task force panel, Harris explains. The issue that everyone understands is not whether or not PSA testing should be performed, but if you should have a biopsy and find prostate cancer, what the next course of action is. 

PSA testing is the main method for early detection of prostate cancer, explains Harris. There are going to be 180,000 to 200,000 newly diagnosed cases this year, making PSA testing an extremely important tool for early detection.

Dr. Harris on Controversy of PSA Testing for Prostate Cancer

Richard Harris, MD, of UroPartners, says there are many exciting advancements currently happening in the field of prostate cancer. Harris shared his thoughts during an interview with 

With regard to early diagnosis, genomic markers can help establish how aggressive a biopsy is and give urologists guidance on whether patients should be placed under active surveillance or treated.

Additionally, many new therapies are in clinical development for advanced prostate cancer. In this space, many clinical trials are looking at PARP inhibitors, which have a very bright future as far as helping manage certain forms of prostate cancer, Harris says.

Richard Harris, MD, of UroPartners, says there are many exciting advancements currently happening in the field of prostate cancer. Harris shared his insights during an interview with OncLive at the 2016 LUGPA Annual Meeting.

Richard Harris, MD

Articles

Dr. Harris on PSA Testing and Active Surveillance in Prostate Cancer

Dr. Harris on Controversy of PSA Testing for Prostate Cancer

Dr. Richard Harris on Advancements on the Horizon in Prostate Cancer