Prostate Cancer Screening Reduces Deaths
Written By: The Lancet Oncology
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Published - Jun 29, 2010
Jonas Hugosson, from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and colleagues undertook a randomised controlled trial to assess the merits of screening men for the presence of prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Increased concentrations of this antigen indicate a higher risk of prostate cancer. The findings are published in an Article published Online First in The Lancet Oncology.
The study, which is still ongoing, began recruiting men between the ages of 50 and 65 years to either a screening or control group. Each group had almost 10 000 men. When men were found to have an increased PSA, they were offered additional tests such as digital rectal examination and prostate biopsies.
Over the 14 years of follow-up, prostate cancer mortality was decreased almost by half in the screening group compared with in the control group. Prostate cancer was diagnosed in 1138 (11•4%) men in the screening group and 718 (7•2%) in the control group. Of those men with detected prostate cancer in the screening group, 896 (78•7%) of 1138 were diagnosed as a result of an invitation to the study.