Prostate cancer screening: and yet it moves!

Asian J Androl. 2015 May-Jun;17(3):437-8. doi: 10.4103/1008-682X.143310.

Abstract

The debate of prostate cancer (PCa) screening has been shaped over decades. There is a plethora of articles in the literature supporting as well as declining prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening. Does screening decrease PCa mortality? With the long-term results of the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate (ERSPC) the answer is clearly YES. It moves! However, in medicine there are no benefits without any harm and thus, screening has to be performed in targeted and smart way-or in other words-in a risk-adapted fashion when compared with the way it was done in the past. Here, we discuss the main findings of the ERSPC trials and provide insights on how the future screening strategies should be implemented.

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / blood
  • Early Detection of Cancer / trends*
  • Europe
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Prostate-Specific Antigen / blood
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / blood
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / diagnosis*
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / mortality*
  • Risk Factors
  • Survival Rate

Substances

  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • Prostate-Specific Antigen