The Cancer Letter‘s Paul Goldberg reports that the American Urological Association released a list of best practices that included beginning prostate screening at age 40 (see page 3 of this PDF for the announcement).

It came, Goldberg reports, “Less than a month after the New England Journal of Medicine published trial results that point to overdiagnosis and low or no benefit from screening men over the age of 50.” The American Cancer Society says it “does not support routine testing for prostate cancer in men at average risk at this time.”

Meanwhile, Cancerwise’s Julie Penne looked at the American Urological Association’s partnership with the NFL and a Houston event at which partnering doctors screened 37 men between the ages of 31 and 77.”

Recently, M. D. Anderson and the American Urological Association (AUA) teamed up to screen 37 NFL retirees from the Houston area as part of a 10-city series that the NFL Player Care Foundation initiated to address the medical needs of retired players. The M. D. Anderson screening… was the seventh site in the year-long tour that has held screening events in Kansas City, Atlanta, Dallas, Tampa Bay, Washington, D.C., and Canton, Ohio, the home of the NFL Hall of Fame.

Other than a UPI story and the aforementioned blog post, the initiative doesn’t seem to have attracted much attention, though University of Minnesota professor and AHCJ member Gary Schwitzer posted his reaction. Unfortunately, overshadowed by H1N1, the AUA’s new guidelines and the controversy surrounding them have gotten little attention as well. The Los Angeles Times‘ Shari Roan offers a roundup of the issues.