[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 126 (Monday, September 23, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6684-S6685]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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  SENATE RESOLUTION 251--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT THE 
  UNITED STATES PREVENTIVE SERVICES TASK FORCE SHOULD REEVALUATE ITS 
 RECOMMENDATIONS AGAINST PROSTATE-SPECIFIC ANTIGEN-BASED SCREENING FOR 
    PROSTATE CANCER FOR MEN IN ALL AGE GROUPS IN CONSULTATION WITH 
                        APPROPRIATE SPECIALISTS

  Mr. SESSIONS submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

                              S. Res. 251

       Whereas the United States Preventive Services Task Force 
     (referred to in this preamble as the ``USPSTF'') is an 
     independent panel of primary care physicians, not employed by 
     the Federal Government, who are experts in preventive and 
     evidence-based medicine;
       Whereas the physicians on the USPSTF conduct scientific 
     evidence reviews of a broad range of clinical health care 
     preventive services and develop recommendations for primary 
     care clinicians and health systems;
       Whereas prostate cancer is the second leading cause of 
     cancer-related deaths of men in the United States;
       Whereas the National Cancer Institute estimates that, in 
     2013, 238,590 men will be diagnosed with, and 29,720 men will 
     die of, prostate cancer;
       Whereas the National Cancer Institute estimates that 1 in 6 
     men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his 
     lifetime;
       Whereas family history has been shown to be a risk factor 
     for prostate cancer for men of all races and ethnicities, and 
     men with a family history of prostate cancer are twice as 
     likely to be diagnosed with the disease;
       Whereas the USPSTF acknowledges that prostate cancer is the 
     most commonly diagnosed non-skin cancer for men in the United 
     States, with a lifetime risk for diagnosis estimated at 15.9 
     percent;
       Whereas the USPSTF acknowledges that African-American men 
     are twice as likely to die from prostate cancer than other 
     men in the United States;
       Whereas the USPSTF does not have any members who are 
     urologists, a type of physician who specializes in diagnosing 
     and treating patients with prostate cancer;
       Whereas the USPSTF does not have any members who are 
     oncologists, a type of physician who specializes in 
     diagnosing and treating patients with cancer;
       Whereas the Food and Drug Administration first approved the 
     prostate-specific antigen (commonly referred to as ``PSA'') 
     blood test for prostate cancer screening and diagnosis in 
     1992 and, since that time, the mortality rate due to prostate 
     cancer has decreased by 40 percent;
       Whereas, in August 2008, the USPSTF recommended against 
     prostate-specific antigen-based screening for prostate cancer 
     for men ages 75 and older, because the USPSTF determined that 
     there was insufficient evidence to assess the balance of 
     benefits and harms of prostate cancer screening in men 
     younger than age 75;
       Whereas, in May 2012, the USPSTF issued a new 
     recommendation, to replace its 2008 recommendation, against 
     prostate-specific antigen-based screening for prostate cancer 
     for men in all age groups, because the USPSTF concluded that 
     there is moderate-to-high certainty that the test has no net 
     benefit, or that the harms outweigh the benefits, and 
     suggested that this screening practice be discouraged;
       Whereas the May 2012 recommendation against screening 
     applies to all men in the United States, regardless of age;
       Whereas the May 2012 recommendation against screening 
     applies to all men in the United States, regardless of race, 
     even though the USPSTF acknowledges that African-American men 
     have a substantially higher incidence rate for prostate 
     cancer than white men have and more than twice the mortality 
     rate from prostate cancer that white men have;
       Whereas the May 2012 recommendation against screening 
     applies to all men in the United States, even though the 
     USPSTF acknowledges that there is convincing evidence that 
     prostate-specific antigen-based testing helps detect many 
     cases of asymptomatic prostate cancer; and
       Whereas the USPSTF acknowledges that clinical decisions 
     regarding cancer screening

[[Page S6685]]

     involve multiple considerations and that clinicians should 
     individualize decision making to the specific patient or 
     situation: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) the United States Preventive Services Task Force 
     should--
       (A) reevaluate its recommendation against prostate-specific 
     antigen-based screening for prostate cancer for men in all 
     age groups;
       (B) seriously engage and consult with specialists, 
     including urologists and oncologists, as it reevaluates its 
     recommendation;
       (C) identify areas for additional research and evaluation 
     of methods of treatment of, and screening procedures for, 
     prostate cancer;
       (2) prostate cancer screening decisions should be made by 
     each individual patient and his physician, taking into 
     account the personal risk factors of the patient, such as his 
     overall health, age, race, family history, and life 
     expectancy, as well as his desire for eventual treatment if 
     he is diagnosed with prostate cancer; and
       (3) steps should be taken to raise awareness of, and 
     increase public knowledge about, prostate cancer, the 
     benefits of early detection, and the appropriateness of 
     screening tests.

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