Screening
No single procedure can diagnose or describe the extent of PC. Based on patient history, GPs can run a urine test to rule out infection and a prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test and may conduct a digital rectal examination (DRE) inserting a finger into the rectum to feel the prostate for size and texture).9
Working up a PC diagnosis and determining cancer staging (the extent to which PC has progressed) can involve several hospital tests, including X-rays, CT and MRI scans, full-body bone scan, ultrasound, and biopsy. These can assess prostate size, grading of cell changes within the prostate and where cancer cells can be found or have spread to.29
The UK National Screening Committee has been consulting on whether to change its recommendations about PC screening, and especially the PSA test.30
It is not currently recommending targeted screening saying that the PSA test is not accurate enough to detect PC that needs treatment. The rate of false positives means that many men might have to undergo unnecessary and often unpleasant tests and/or unnecessary treatment with long-lasting side effects. It can also miss some cancers.4
However, it is recommending there should be a targeted national PC screening programme to men with confirmed BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene variants every 2 years, from age 45 to age 61.