Dr. Catalona, co-author of a new study on lowering PSA threshold for biopsy to 2.5, was quoted in the Wall Street Journal (March 23, 2004), "To Improve Prostate-Cancer Detection, Doctors Change Approach to Testing."

In the article, Dr. Catalona said that for many men, lowering the threshold simply means they'll get a biopsy sooner rather than later. In a 12-year, 36,000-man study in St. Louis, doctors charted rising PSA scores for a number of men who weren't given a biopsy or diagnosed with cancer until their score finally hit 4.

"These men would look at their PSA record and say, 'The writing's been on the wall for a long time. Why didn't we do that biopsy earlier?"

This USA Today article uses the announcement of Robert De Niro being diagnosed with prostate cancer to introduce the idea of early detection through PSA screening and what that early detection has meant in terms of treating prostate cancer more effectively.

Dr. Catalona is one of the medical sources for the article and is quoted saying, "PSA is the best and most accurate risk assessment test in all of medicine."

Although the highest levels of PSA (above 10ng/mL)­ are closely connected to the presence of prostate cancer, the middle and lower ranges are more difficult to interpret.

Now, research results, coming from the study of Dr. Catalona's patients, show that the time has come to lower the PSA test cutoff point for biopsy from 4.0 to 2.5.

This article explains the study recommending the change and includes responses from doctors regarding the recommendation.

Dr. Catalona says in the article, "Women should encourage the men they love to get regular screenings. Prostate cancer develops silently and screenings are the only way to detect it."