JULY 31: URO TODAY: If population-based screening and testing were adopted in the UK, five times as many men would be diagnosed with prostate cancer, a new study has concluded. READ MORE>
Researchers at the Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, report:
If population-based PSA testing were introduced in the UK, approximately 2660 men per 100,000 aged 50-69 years would be found to have prostate cancer, compared to current rates of approximately 130 per 100,000.
If half of men accepted PSA testing, approximately 160,000 cancers would be found, compared to 30,000 diagnosed each year at present.
Population-based PSA testing resulted in a significant downward stage and grade migration, and most such cancers were of low stage and grade, which could lead to risks of over-treatment for some men.
Mike Scott (New prostate Cancer Infolink) has this to say about the study:
What this study does do…is identify the real clinical value of a test that could actually discriminate with accuracy, early on between those patients at real risk for clinically significant disease (apparently about 30,000 per annum in the UK) and the 130,000 who might be identified with histologically identifiable but clinically non-significant disease.
That’s an awful lot of men who could benefit from knowing early on what their real risk might be for clinically significant disease — one way or the other! READ MORE>
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