Survey of U.S. News/Castle Connolly Top Doctors Finds Widespread Support for PSA Screening

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Most Top Doctors disagree with a government task force that has proposed ending routine use of a prostate-cancer screening test, according to exclusive survey results released today by U.S. News Media Group. U.S. News polled urologists and internal-medicine specialists who are listed at U.S. News Top Doctors.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100603/PH13717LOGO )

Nearly all Top Urologists and most Top Internists endorsed the use of the PSA test to diagnose prostate cancer in men 50 and older, despite the draft recommendation against the test issued this month by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Today's survey is the first ever conducted among U.S. News Top Doctors.

"Many of the doctors responding to our survey expressed dismay at the thought that millions of men may stop receiving the PSA test," said Steve Sternberg, U.S. News Deputy Editor of Health Rankings, who wrote today's exclusive report on the survey's results. "On the other hand, nearly 40 percent of internists, who are often the doctors who order the test for their patients, expressed concern that the uncertainty inherent in the test may expose some men to unnecessary and potentially harmful treatment."

"America is grappling with many healthcare challenges, and the voices of the country's best doctors deserve to be heard on these crucial issues," said U.S. News & World Report Editor and Chief Content Officer Brian Kelly. "As a news organization, and as publisher of U.S. News Top Doctors, we're well positioned to report on their views."

"The overwhelmingly negative response to this new recommendation, coming from physicians who are among the nation's best, suggests that further study and debate on the issue is warranted," said Dr. John Connolly, President and CEO of Castle Connolly Medical Ltd., publisher of America's Top Doctors® and other Top Doctors and consumer health guides. The U.S. News Top Doctors directory draws from Castle Connolly's database of Top Doctors, all recommended for their clinical skills by other doctors and individually vetted by Castle Connolly's physician-led research team.

Ninety-five percent of Top Urologists who responded to the U.S. News survey disagreed with the government task force, and 97 percent said they themselves would get the PSA test. Among Top Internists, 62 percent felt that men over the age of 50 should be advised to get a PSA test.

The exclusive report: Survey of Top Doctors Finds Widespread Support for PSA Test

About the U.S. News Media Group. The U.S. News Media Group is a multi-platform publisher of news and analysis, which includes the digital-only U.S. News Weekly magazine, www.usnews.com, and www.rankingsandreviews.com. Focusing on Health, Money, Education, Travel, Cars, and Public Service/Opinion, the U.S. News Media Group has earned a reputation as the leading provider of service news and information that improves the quality of life of its readers. The U.S. News Media Group's signature franchise includes its News You Can Use® brand of journalism and its "Best" series of consumer guides that include rankings of colleges, graduate schools, hospitals, mutual funds, health plans, and more.

SOURCE U.S. News & World Report