The ERSPC study is currently the largest randomised controlled trial of prostate cancer screening. It aims to determine whether the effect of early detection and treatment of prostate cancer will reduce deaths from prostate cancer. There are eight participating centres: the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. Recruitment to the study is still underway and the target is to recruit 180,000 men in total. Each man will be chosen at random to either be screened for prostate cancer (using the prostate specific antigen test with or without digital rectal examination) or to join a control group which will not be screened. Early results from the trial published in March 2009 showed a decrease in mortality of 20 per cent in the screened group, although this was associated with a high level of over treatment. It was estimated that 48 men would have to receive treatment for prostate cancer in order to save one life.
Back to prostate cancer research.