Why Choose Us
At Somerset Urological Associates, we seek to provide the highest level of care through our highly skilled health care professionals and state of the art technologies. We are devoted to addressing the individual needs and demands of patients with kindness and professionalism. With years of experience, our board certified physicians are highly skilled in all the aspects of general urology. Utilizing the latest technology for diagnosis as well as medical and surgical treatment, we are recognized experts in the fields of laparoscopy, prostate enlargement, kidney stones, urinary incontinence, and the treatment of urologic cancers of the kidney, prostate and bladder.
Mission Statement
Somerset Urological Associates is dedicated to providing personalized, convenient and state of the art care by accomplished, caring physicians and a considerate, responsive staff. The good health of our patients is our primary concern, and we are committed to providing excellence in urological care.
Our Philosophy of Care
Over the past 60 years, we have built our success on superior patient service and our ability to provide a full spectrum of the most current diagnostic and treatment options. We treat our patients with compassion and the utmost respect.
Hospital Affiliations
Our physicians are affiliated with the following hospitals:
- Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Somerset
- Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at New Brunswick
- Somerset Ambulatory Surgical Center
- Steeplechase Cancer Center
- Saint Peter’s University Hospital
Our Stance on PSA Testing
"In 2012 the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force made a recommendation to discontinue PSA screening for the early detection of prostate cancer based on several large population-based studies and suggested that the harms of screening potentially outweigh the benefits. These studies contained significant flaws and did not reflect current health care practices in the United States.
Since 2012, the urologists of Somerset Urological Associates have strongly disagreed with the recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. We feel that these recommendations do a great disservice to men and will likely lead to higher death rates from prostate cancer in the U.S. No urologists or oncologists participated in the formulation of recommendations by this task force. The physicians who constitute this body do not and have not directly treated prostate disease or prostate cancer. In fact, this same task force recommended against mammography for women under 50 years of age. Breast cancer experts refuted those recommendations, which were eventually rescinded.
Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death of men in the United States accounting for 30,000 deaths annually. Fortunately, deaths from prostate cancer had steadily declined since widespread PSA testing began. Also, far fewer men developed painful advanced prostate cancer. However, not all prostate cancers are aggressive and therefore not all prostate cancers require treatment. In order to decide if one’s prostate cancer requires treatment or merely surveillance, it is important to differentiate between dangerous and more slow-growing cancers. To this end, decisions regarding treatment options for prostate cancer should be individualized based on a thorough and extensive decision-making process between a patient and his urologist.
Since 2012, many advances have been made in screening, detection and risk assessment of prostate cancer. We are able to do a better job of discerning which cancers may pose a potential threat to patients. Through advances in prostate MRI imaging, molecular biomarkers and genomic testing, we are better able to identify patients who need treatment and closely monitor those who may not. With these advances in technology, we can reduce the potential harms that inherently exist with the PSA screening process. No one can dispute that the PSA test has limitations, but when used and interpreted appropriately, the test provides valuable information in the diagnosis, pre-treatment staging, risk assessment and monitoring of prostate cancer patients. When combined with some of the newly available assessment tools, we are able to significantly reduce the risk of overdiagnosis and overtreatment of prostate cancer.
In response to the 2012 USPTF recommendations, the American Urological Association passed guidelines for the Early Detection of Prostate Cancer in 2013:
1. The Panel recommends against PSA screening in men under age 40 years.
2. The Panel does not recommend routine screening in men between ages 40 to 54 years at average risk. For men younger than age 55 years at higher risk (e.g. positive family history or African American race), decisions regarding prostate cancer screening should be individualized.
3. For men ages 55 to 69 years the Panel recognizes that the decision to undergo PSA screening involves weighing the benefits of preventing prostate cancer mortality in 1 man for every 1,000 men screened over a decade against the known potential harms associated with screening and treatment. For this reason, the Panel strongly recommends shared decision-making for men age 55 to 69 years that are considering PSA screening, and proceeding based on a man's values and preferences. This is the age group most likely to benefit from screening.
4. To reduce the harms of screening, a routine screening interval of two years or more may be preferred over annual screening in those men who have participated in shared decision-making and decided on screening. As compared to annual screening, it is expected that screening intervals of two years preserve the majority of the benefits and reduce overdiagnosis and false positives.
5. The Panel does not recommend routine PSA screening in men age 70+ years or any man with less than a 10 to 15 year life expectancy. Some men age 70+ years who are in excellent health may benefit from prostate cancer screening.
At SUA, we have followed and promoted the more reasonable recommendations passed by the AUA. Since 2012, PSA screening rates have declined by as much as 10 percent with fewer than one-third of U.S. men getting the test. As a result, fewer men are being diagnosed with early-stage disease (when it is more treatable), while significantly more men are being diagnosed with more aggressive harder-to-treat cancer. These men with more aggressive disease will carry with them a higher risk of eventually dying of the disease. Based on these findings combined with data showing the widespread adoption of active surveillance for close monitoring of cancers which may be less aggressive, the USPTF has revised their prostate cancer screening recommendations in April of 2017. Their current statement recommends individualized decision-making about screening for prostate cancer in men between ages 55 - 69 after discussion with a clinician, so that each man has an opportunity to understand the potential benefits and harms of screening and to incorporate his values and preferences into his decision. They continue to recommend against screening in men greater than 70 years of age.
The Current USPTF recommendation is much better aligned with recommendations made by several leading medical groups including the AUA.
Our philosophy at Somerset Urological Associates has always been to practice with the best interest of our patients in mind. It is important that we fully understand and evaluate current evidence in order to provide the highest quality patient care. We recognize that PSA screening remains a challenging, controversial and heated topic in men's health. Along these lines, we would be happy to discuss this important issue with you in greater detail at your next visit."