The pros and cons of prostate specific antigen screening

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men and early detection is crucial, yet there is currently no screening programme using prostate specific antigen (PSA) tests currently. Around 475,000 men are living with or after the disease in the UK, and every year more than 52,000 men are diagnosed on average according to Prostate Cancer UK. 1 But while screening programmes are offered nationally to increase the rate of early detection of certain diseases or cancers, such as, breast cancer, the National Screening Committee has previously recommended against population screening for prostate cancer. “This is because the evidence has