Screening for Prostate Cancer

Overview

Journal Med Clin North Am

Specialty General Medicine

Date 2020 Oct 25

PMID 33099450

Citations 60

Authors

Sigrid V Carlsson

Andrew J Vickers

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

This article gives an overview of the current state of the evidence for prostate cancer early detection with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and summarizes current recommendations from guideline groups. The article reviews the global public health burden and risk factors for prostate cancer with clinical implications as screening tools. Screening studies, novel biomarkers, and MRI are discussed. The article outlines 7 key practice points for primary care physicians and provides a simple schema for facilitating shared decision-making conversations.

Citing Articles

De novo small cell neuroendocrine prostate cancer: An atypical case presentation.

Rahmani Y, Hafez Y, Agha A, Jarai M, Millan Basiliu N, Azad E Urol Case Rep. 2025; 59:102970.

PMID: 40051833 PMC: 11883398. DOI: 10.1016/j.eucr.2025.102970.

Unraveling molecular interconnections and identifying potential therapeutic targets of significance in obesity-cancer link.

Abdulla A, Sadida H, Jerobin J, Elfaki I, Mir R, Mirza S J Natl Cancer Cent. 2025; 5(1):8-27.

PMID: 40040878 PMC: 11873641. DOI: 10.1016/j.jncc.2024.11.001.

Association between high‑density lipoproteins and prostate specific antigen: A cross‑sectional study from NHANES database.

Adan M, Hu B, Yan M, Hidig S, Dai Y, Li G Mol Clin Oncol. 2025; 22(4):34.

PMID: 40012901 PMC: 11863179. DOI: 10.3892/mco.2025.2829.

SREBF1-based metabolic reprogramming in prostate cancer promotes tumor ferroptosis resistance.

Wei G, Huang Y, Li W, Xie Y, Zhang D, Niu Y Cell Death Discov. 2025; 11(1):75.

PMID: 39988626 PMC: 11847930. DOI: 10.1038/s41420-025-02354-7.

Monitoring of prostate-specific antigen in men with benign prostate enlargement receiving 5-alpha reductase inhibitors: a non-interventional, cross-sectional study of real-world practice of urologists in Spain and Brazil.

Palacios J, Kapse P, Cortes V, Averbeck M, Alba A, Somvanshi S BMC Urol. 2025; 25(1):22.

PMID: 39891103 PMC: 11786547. DOI: 10.1186/s12894-025-01701-1.

References

Wolf A, Wender R, Etzioni R, Thompson I, DAmico A, Volk R . American Cancer Society guideline for the early detection of prostate cancer: update 2010. CA Cancer J Clin. 2010; 60(2):70-98. DOI: 10.3322/caac.20066. View

Brawer M, Chetner M, Beatie J, Buchner D, Vessella R, Lange P . Screening for prostatic carcinoma with prostate specific antigen. J Urol. 1992; 147(3 Pt 2):841-5. DOI: 10.1016/s0022-5347(17)37401-3. View

Carlsson S, Assel M, Sjoberg D, Ulmert D, Hugosson J, Lilja H . Influence of blood prostate specific antigen levels at age 60 on benefits and harms of prostate cancer screening: population based cohort study. BMJ. 2014; 348:g2296. PMC: 3968958. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.g2296. View

Loeb S, Bjurlin M, Nicholson J, Tammela T, Penson D, Carter H . Overdiagnosis and overtreatment of prostate cancer. Eur Urol. 2014; 65(6):1046-55. PMC: 4113338. DOI: 10.1016/j.eururo.2013.12.062. View

Tsodikov A, Gulati R, Heijnsdijk E, Pinsky P, Moss S, Qiu S . Reconciling the Effects of Screening on Prostate Cancer Mortality in the ERSPC and PLCO Trials. Ann Intern Med. 2017; 167(7):449-455. PMC: 5734053. DOI: 10.7326/M16-2586. View

Pinsky P, Blacka A, Kramer B, Miller A, Prorok P, Berg C . Assessing contamination and compliance in the prostate component of the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial. Clin Trials. 2010; 7(4):303-11. DOI: 10.1177/1740774510374091. View

Eastham J, Riedel E, Scardino P, Shike M, Fleisher M, Schatzkin A . Variation of serum prostate-specific antigen levels: an evaluation of year-to-year fluctuations. JAMA. 2003; 289(20):2695-700. DOI: 10.1001/jama.289.20.2695. View

Vickers A, Eastham J, Scardino P, Lilja H . The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Recommendations for Prostate Cancer Screening. Urology. 2016; 91:12-8. PMC: 4842100. DOI: 10.1016/j.urology.2015.12.054. View

Kearns J, Lin D . Improving the Specificity of PSA Screening with Serum and Urine Markers. Curr Urol Rep. 2018; 19(10):80. DOI: 10.1007/s11934-018-0828-6. View

10.

Bellardita L, Villa S, Valdagni R . Living with untreated prostate cancer: predictors of quality of life. Curr Opin Urol. 2014; 24(3):311-7. DOI: 10.1097/MOU.0000000000000038. View

11.

Buzzoni C, Auvinen A, Roobol M, Carlsson S, Moss S, Puliti D . Metastatic Prostate Cancer Incidence and Prostate-specific Antigen Testing: New Insights from the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer. Eur Urol. 2015; 68(5):885-90. PMC: 4982869. DOI: 10.1016/j.eururo.2015.02.042. View

12.

COONER W, Mosley B, Rutherford Jr C, Beard J, POND H, Terry W . Prostate cancer detection in a clinical urological practice by ultrasonography, digital rectal examination and prostate specific antigen. J Urol. 1990; 143(6):1146-52; discussion 1152-4. DOI: 10.1016/s0022-5347(17)40211-4. View

13.

Loppenberg B, Friedlander D, Krasnova A, Tam A, Leow J, Nguyen P . Variation in the use of active surveillance for low-risk prostate cancer. Cancer. 2017; 124(1):55-64. DOI: 10.1002/cncr.30983. View

14.

Vickers A, Savage C, Hruza M, Tuerk I, Koenig P, Martinez-Pineiro L . The surgical learning curve for laparoscopic radical prostatectomy: a retrospective cohort study. Lancet Oncol. 2009; 10(5):475-80. PMC: 2777762. DOI: 10.1016/S1470-2045(09)70079-8. View

15.

Pashayan N, Duffy S, Neal D, Hamdy F, Donovan J, Martin R . Implications of polygenic risk-stratified screening for prostate cancer on overdiagnosis. Genet Med. 2015; 17(10):789-95. PMC: 4430305. DOI: 10.1038/gim.2014.192. View

16.

Johansson E, Steineck G, Holmberg L, Johansson J, Nyberg T, Ruutu M . Long-term quality-of-life outcomes after radical prostatectomy or watchful waiting: the Scandinavian Prostate Cancer Group-4 randomised trial. Lancet Oncol. 2011; 12(9):891-9. DOI: 10.1016/S1470-2045(11)70162-0. View

17.

Chen S, Fann J, Sipeky C, Yang T, Chiu S, Yen A . Risk Prediction of Prostate Cancer with Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms and Prostate Specific Antigen. J Urol. 2018; 201(3):486-495. DOI: 10.1016/j.juro.2018.10.015. View

18.

Cantor S, Volk R, Cass A, Gilani J, Spann S . Psychological benefits of prostate cancer screening: the role of reassurance. Health Expect. 2002; 5(2):104-13. PMC: 5060134. DOI: 10.1046/j.1369-6513.2002.00166.x. View

19.

Vickers A, Sjoberg D, Ulmert D, Vertosick E, Roobol M, Thompson I . Empirical estimates of prostate cancer overdiagnosis by age and prostate-specific antigen. BMC Med. 2014; 12:26. PMC: 3922189. DOI: 10.1186/1741-7015-12-26. View

20.

McIntosh M, Opozda M, Evans H, Finlay A, Galvao D, Chambers S . A systematic review of the unmet supportive care needs of men on active surveillance for prostate cancer. Psychooncology. 2019; 28(12):2307-2322. DOI: 10.1002/pon.5262. View