UK prostate cancer screening urged

Scientists believe that screening for prostate cancer using prostate specific antigen would lead to a substantial number of tumors diagnosed  at an earlier and more treatable stage, however, there would be likely  cases of overdiagnosed prostate cancer, according to a study published  in the British Journal of Cancer.

The researchers studied 43,842 healthy men given PSA testing as part of  the ProtecT study to calculate the number of advanced-stage prostate  cancers picked up as a result of the testing. They also worked out the  length of time during which prostate tumors do not produce symptoms but  are detectable by a screening test - the mean sojourn time. The MST test  is a method of calculating "overdiagnosis" and was used to estimate the  probability of a diagnosis of prostate cancer that would not have caused  symptoms during the patient's lifetime if screening had not taken place.  There is no prostate cancer screening program in the UK but there is  ongoing ad hoc testing. Screening with PSA alone is not yet recommended  in the UK because there is not yet firm evidence that this reduces  mortality from the disease.