PSA velocity being questioned

When the PSA (prostate specific antigen) test was dismissed from many scientific quarters, urologists began coaching their patients to examine the rate at which the PSA number accelerated. Patients bought into this idea and began to opt for treatment. Now researchers say the practice of monitoring the velocity of PSA increase is not necessarily valuable as a screening tool and that patients shouldn't elect to undergo biopsies based on this measure alone.As widespread as this practice is, No studies to date have addressed the costs and benefits of using PSA velocity for prostate cancer screening. An increase in PSA among men with very low PSA number to begin with may be meaningless. Source: Etzioni RD, et al. Is Prostate-Specific Antigen Velocity Useful in Early Detection of Prostate Cancer" A Critical Appraisal of the Evidence. Journal National Cancer Institute 2007; 99:1510-1515.