New study found screening can reduce deaths by 13% but that overdiagnosis and subsequent overtreatment remain concerns
Prostate cancer screening can reduce deaths by 13%, a study suggests.
Cancer screening experts are assessing whether the UK should introduce a screening programme for prostate cancer, with a decision expected before the end of the year.
The new study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, suggests that a “targeted” approach to screening could be adopted to reduce deaths from the disease and also prevent problems arising from “overdiagnosis”.
Researchers examined the risks and benefits of screening across eight European countries over a 23-year period, including data on 162,000 men – with 72,000 of these invited for screening. They found that one death from prostate cancer was prevented for every 456 men who were invited for screening. And one death from prostate cancer was averted for every 12 men in whom prostate cancer was diagnosed.
