Bill Text: NJ AJR89 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Memorializes Congress to seek withdrawal of United States Preventive Services Task Force recommendation against prostate-specific antigen-based screening for prostate cancer.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-12-12 - Introduced, 1st Reading without Reference, 2nd Reading [AJR89 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-AJR89-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman JOAN M. QUIGLEY
District 32 (Bergen and Hudson)
Assemblyman ALEX DECROCE
District 26 (Morris and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Memorializes Congress to seek withdrawal of United States Preventive Services Task Force recommendation against prostate-specific antigen-based screening for prostate cancer.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Joint Resolution memorializing the Congress of the United States to seek the withdrawal of the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommendation against prostate-specific antigen-based screening for prostate cancer for men in all age groups.
Whereas, The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is an independent panel of non-federal experts in prevention and evidence-based medicine that is composed of primary care physicians who conduct scientific evidence reviews of a broad range of clinical health care preventive services and develop recommendations for primary care clinicians and health systems; and
Whereas, The USPSTF acknowledges that prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed non-skin cancer in men in the United States, with one in six American men being diagnosed with prostate cancer in his lifetime; and
Whereas, Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer related deaths in men in the United States; and
Whereas, The National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society estimate that approximately 240,890 men in the United States will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and 33,720 men will die from the disease in 2011; and
Whereas, The American Cancer Society projects that in New Jersey alone, there will be approximately 7,840 newly diagnosed cases of prostate cancer and 1,100 deaths from the disease in 2011; and
Whereas, In 2008, the USPSTF recommended against prostate-specific antigen-based screening for prostate cancer for men 75 years and older; and
Whereas, In October 2011, the USPSTF issued a new recommendation against prostate-specific antigen-based screening for prostate cancer for men in all age groups because it concluded that there is moderate or high certainty that the service has no net benefit or that the harms outweigh the benefits; and
Whereas, The USPSTF states that the October 2011 recommendation applies to men in the United States that do not have symptoms of prostate cancer, even though by the time a man experiences symptoms of prostate cancer, the cancer is generally too advanced to cure; and
Whereas, The USPSTF states that its new recommendation against screening applies regardless of race, even though the USPSTF acknowledges that African-American men have a substantially higher prostate cancer incidence rate than white men and more than twice the prostate cancer mortality rate of white men; and
Whereas, The USPSTF issued this recent recommendation without having a urologist or oncologist, two types of physicians who specialize in diagnosing and treating patients with prostate cancer, on the task force; and
Whereas, The USPSTF's new recommendation regarding prostate cancer screening follows their recommendation in November 2009 against mammograms for women ages 40-49 and against teaching women to do breast self-exams, which Congress rejected after public outcry; and
Whereas, The most recently updated study, the Goteborg Randomized Population-based Prostate Cancer Screening Trial, found that with screening, deaths from prostate cancer dropped 44% over a 14 year period, compared with men who did not undergo screening, and that prostate cancer screening efficiency was similar to other cancers; and
Whereas, The USPSTF recommendation against screening puts into harm's way men who are most at risk: the underinsured, those who live in areas where health care is not readily available, those who have a family history of prostate cancer, and African-American men, who have a higher incidence rate and higher mortality rate of prostate cancer than white men; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Governor and the Legislature of this State respectfully memorialize the Congress of the United States to seek the withdrawal of the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommendation against prostate-specific antigen-based screening for prostate cancer for men in all age groups.
2. Duly authenticated copies of this joint resolution shall be transmitted to the presiding officers of the United States Congress and every member of the United States Congress elected from this State.
3. This joint resolution shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
The Governor and the Legislature respectfully memorialize the Congress of the United States to seek the withdrawal of the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendation against prostate-specific antigen-based screening for prostate cancer for men in all age groups. Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed non-skin cancer in men and is the second leading cause of cancer related death in men in the United States. The American Cancer Society projects that in New Jersey there will be approximately 7,840 newly diagnosed cases of prostate cancer and 1,100 deaths from prostate cancer in 2011.
The USPSTF issued the new recommendation against screening without having a urologist or oncologist, two types of physicians that specialize in diagnosing and treating prostate cancer, on the task force. The most recently updated study found that with screening, deaths from prostate cancer dropped 44% over a 14 year period.
The USPSTF recommendation against screening puts the men who are most at risk in harm's way: specifically, the underinsured, those who live in areas where health care is not readily available, those who have a family history of prostate cancer and African-American men who have a substantially higher prostate cancer incidence rate than white men and more than twice the prostate cancer mortality rate of white men.
