Med Student

Your Article Summary

Risk of dying from prostate cancer in men randomized to screening
Cancer, 10/13/09

Bergdahl AG et al. – Nonattendees in prostate cancer screening constitute a high-risk group for both death from prostate cancer and death from other causes comparable to that described in other cancer screening programs. Cancer 2009. © 2009 American Cancer Society.

Methods

• 10,000 men randomly assigned to active PSA-screening every second year
• Prostate cancer mortality attributed to whether men were attendees in screening program (attending at least once) or nonattendees

Results

• 39 men died from prostate cancer during the first 13 years
• Overall (34% vs 13 %) and cancer-specific mortality (0.8% vs 0.3 %) found to be significantly higher among nonattendees compared with attendees
• Majority of deaths (12 of 18) among screening attendees in men diagnosed at first screening
• 6 deaths (including 3 interval cases) noted among men complying with biennial screening program