An organized prostate cancer screening program in Sweden focused on the men who have the most to gain would reduce the risk of dying from prostate cancer by more than 40 percent, according to studies at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg.
Spontaneous prostate cancer screenings, which involve the PSA test, have been applied in Sweden in recent decades but have had only a marginal effect on mortality, the study notes.
In Sweden, national screening programs exist for cervical cancer, using Pap smear tests, and breast cancer, which employ mammography. A corresponding PSA testing program does not exist.
Many men instead have PSA tests on their own, often called opportunistic screening. However, there is no national recommendation for how such a test program should be formulated.
In several large studies, researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy have tested organized PSA screening of 10,000 randomly chosen men in the Gothenburg region, and compared with the outcome in opportunistic screening.
The studies show that an organized test program both identifies more cancer cases in an early, curable phase and sharply reduces the risk of dying:
Source: Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg
