SCREENING FOR PROSTATE-CANCER - AN ANALYSIS OF THE EARLY EXPERIENCE

While about 30 to 40 percent of men older than 50 years harbor some fo rm of prostate cancer, only about 20 to 25 percent of these cancers ar e estimated to be clinically significant. With increasing use of new, more effective means of detecting prostate cancer in asymptomatic scre ening populations, concerns have been raised that large numbers of cli nically insignificant cancers will be diagnosed, generating huge casts and unnecessary treatment-related morbidity. This report reviews the rationale for early detection and the accumulated data on the effectiv eness of screening.