Prostate cancer screening can lead to men facing unnecessary treatment, study finds

Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in men.

Screening for prostate cancer with a blood test can save men’s lives, but the “absolute benefit is small” and many men could face unnecessary treatment and medical complications, according to the most comprehensive study yet.

In a review that analysed six trials involving nearly 800,000 men, screening with the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test reduced prostate cancer deaths by two for every 1,000 men screened, meaning 500 men must be screened to prevent one death from the disease.