Overview
Introduction
Canada has no single uncontested national PSA screening position.
Canada has no single uncontested national PSA-screening position. The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care's 2014 recommendation advises against PSA screening in men younger than 55 and those aged 70 or older, and gives a weak recommendation against screening in men aged 55–69 after considering individual preferences. Its cited harms include false-positive results, unnecessary biopsy, and overdiagnosis. That recommendation is under review, so it should be identified as the current 2014 position rather than described as a permanent conclusion. The Canadian Urological Association takes a different specialty-society position. It recommends offering PSA screening through shared decision-making to people with more than 10 years of life expectancy, beginning at age 50 in the general population and age 45 for those at increased risk. The disagreement is genuine. A responsible clinician should name the difference, explain uncertainty, and avoid presenting one organisation's recommendation as the only Canadian answer. The conversation should cover at least four points: - What the person hopes the test will accomplish. - The chance of a false-positive result, biopsy, overdiagnosis, or treatment-related harm. - The possibility that...
