Open AccessScreening for Prostate Cancer
Author(s) -
Brawley Otis W.,
Ankerst Donna P.,
Thompson Ian M.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
ca: a cancer journal for clinicians
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 62.937
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1542-4863
pISSN - 0007-9235
DOI - 10.3322/caac.20026
Subject(s) - prostate cancer , medicine , finasteride , prostate cancer screening , prostate , cancer , prostate specific antigen , oncology , gynecology , relative risk , risk assessment , randomized controlled trial , confidence interval , computer security , computer science
Abstract In the United States, prostate cancer will affect 1 man in 6 during his lifetime. Since the mid‐1980s, screening with the prostate–specific antigen (PSA) blood test has more than doubled the risk of a prostate cancer diagnosis. A decrease in prostate cancer death rates has been observed since that time, but the relative contribution of PSA testing as opposed to other factors, such as improved treatment, has been uncertain. The recent release of 2 large randomized trials suggests that if there is a benefit of screening, it is, at best, small. Methods to assess a man's risk of prostate cancer, including those tools that integrate multiple risk factors, are now available and should be used in risk assessment. Men undergoing screening for prostate cancer may reduce their risk of prostate cancer with finasteride. CA Cancer J Clin 2009;59:264‐273. © 2009 American Cancer Society, Inc.