Ces Urol 1998, 2(3):18-22

Prostate cancer: Screening or case finding?

M. Horňák

Urologická klinika Lekárskej fakulty Univerzity Komenského v Dérerovej nemocnici, Bratislava

When the prostate cancer diagnosis is based on the symptom emergence, the disease has usually progressed locally or metastasized beyond the possibilities of curative therapy. An early diagnosis based on the screening of the higher male population age-groups represents one of the ways to better results. Before starting a screening process for any kind of a disease one has to meet the standards set by the World Health Organization. This report analyses the individual criteria of the prostate cancer screening program. Majority of the criteria required for the symptom-free population screening does apply for the prostate cancer. Nonetheless, the expert committee from numerous European countries did not recommend a routine screening program for the symptom-free population and it is organizing randomized prospective studies with the objective to prove whether the screening process decreases prostate cancer mortality. The results of these studies will not be available until the year 2000. In the meantime, it is appropriate to focus on searching for early stage prostate cancer in those patients, who come to see the urologist for any number of reasons (socalled case finding).

Keywords: prostate cancer, screening, case finding

Published: June 1, 1998