PSA testing can help identify prostate cancer, but using it for population screening involves an important trade-off: earlier detection can benefit some people while also identifying cancers that would never have caused harm.
A raised PSA level is not specific to cancer, and a normal result cannot rule cancer out completely. Abnormal results may lead to MRI, biopsy and further investigation, while detection of slow-growing cancers can create difficult decisions about surveillance or treatment.
Overdiagnosis matters because treatment for prostate cancer can cause significant adverse effects, including urinary and sexual problems. The potential benefit of preventing some prostate-cancer deaths therefore has to be considered alongside false positives, unnecessary investigation and treatment-related harm.
There is currently no national prostate-cancer screening programme in the UK. People with a prostate can discuss PSA testing with a GP, who can explain individual risk factors and the benefits and limitations of testing.
Source: NHS — PSA test.
