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An influential federal task force has dropped its controversial opposition to routine screening for prostate cancer and now says that men between the ages of 55 and 69 should discuss the test’s potential benefits and harms with their doctors and make decisions based on their own “values and preferences.” “The decision about whether to be screened for prostate cancer should be an individual one,” the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said in a draft recommendation issued Tuesday. (McGinley, 4/11)

The task force has proposed issuing a “C” grade for prostate cancer screening in men ages 55 to 69 who show no signs of the disease, while maintaining its current “D” grade for this screening in men age 70 and older. A “D” grade is the panel’s toughest mark, meant to discourage routine use of a test. A “C” grade indicates that people should weigh the potential risks and benefits of a test with their doctors, while “A” and “B” grades represent the task force’s endorsements. (Young, 4/11)

What was emphatic before is wishy-washy now. The last time the US Preventive Services Task Force weighed in on prostate cancer screening via blood tests, in 2012, it issued unambiguous advice to physicians: discourage men of all ages from getting tested for levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA). That’s still the advice for men older than 70 or younger than 55. But for those aged 55 to 69, the task force, a panel of independent experts who advise the federal government, is punting. (Begley, 4/11)