<unk>  is the screening process used to detect undiagnosed prostate cancer in men without signs or symptoms. When abnormal prostate tissue or cancer is found early, it may be easier to treat and cure, but it is unclear if early detection reduces mortality rates. Screening precedes a diagnosis and subsequent treatment. The digital rectal examination (DRE) is one screening tool, during which the prostate is manually assessed through the wall of the rectum. The second screening tool is the measurement of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in the blood. The evidence remains insufficient to determine whether screening with PSA or DRE reduces mortality from prostate cancer. A 2013 Cochrane review concluded PSA screening results in "no statistically significant difference in prostate cancer-specific mortality...". The American studies were determined to have a high bias. European studies included in this review were of low bias and one reported "a significant reduction in prostate cancer-specific mortality." PSA screening with DRE was not assessed in this review. DRE was not assessed separately. Most recent guidelines have recommended that the decision whether or not to screen should be based on shared decision-making, so that men are informed of the risks and benefits of screening. In 2012, the American Society of Clinical Oncology recommends screening be discouraged for those who are expected to live less than ten years, while for those with a longer life expectancy a decision should be made by the person in question. In general, they conclude that based on recent research, "it is uncertain whether the benefits associated with PSA testing for<unk>  are worth the harms associated with screening and subsequent unnecessary treatment." However, by March 2022, experts who reviewed the latest evidence for the European Commission's Scientific Advice Mechanism judged that the balance of harms and benefits had changed due to technological improvements, and for the first time recommended organised<unk>  at the population level, using blood tests; and they specifically advised against offering opportunistic tests to asymptomatic individuals outside of such screening programmes. Prostate biopsies are used to diagnose prostate cancer but are not done on asymptomatic men and therefore are not used for screening. Infection after prostate biopsy occurs in about 1%, while death occurs as a result of biopsy in 0.2%. Prostate biopsy guided by magnetic resonance imaging has improved the diagnostic accuracy of the procedure.
Prostate cancer screening
Breast cancer screening
Lung cancer screening
Cancer screening
Prostate cancer staging
Colon cancer staging
Cervical screening
Breast cancer awareness