Traditional screening may be delaying prostate cancer diagnosis in transgender women

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-06-27 01:00

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The criteria for prostate cancer screening among transgender women should be revised, as their hormone levels may be leading to delayed diagnoses, according to US researchers. The team looked at data from 210 transgender women who had no prostate cancer diagnosis, and who had their prostate-specific androgen (PSA) levels tested while receiving gender-affirming hormone treatment for at least six months. They found the average PSA level in transgender women was very low at 0.02ng/mL, but in 36% of patients, PSAs were undetectable. The results suggest the traditional indicator of 4ng/mL in cisgender men may not be a reliable indicator of prostate cancer in transgender women, especially since the average PSA level at diagnosis for transgender women is 7.0ng.mL, indicating it’s probably been caught later than it should be. The team says further studies should be done to find a different indicator to reduce delayed diagnoses in this population.