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ProstateCancerScreening(PDQ)PatientVersionNationalCancerInstitute

Prostate Cancer Screening (PDQ)

What is screening?
Screeningislookingforcancerbeforeapersonhasanysymptoms.Thiscanhelpfindcanceratanearlystage.When
abnormaltissueorcancerisfoundearly,itmaybeeasiertotreat.Bythetimesymptomsappear,cancermayhave
beguntospread.
Scientistsaretryingtobetterunderstandwhichpeoplearemorelikelytogetcertaintypesofcancer.Theyalsostudy
thethingswedoandthethingsaroundustoseeiftheycausecancer.Thisinformationhelpsdoctorsrecommendwho
shouldbescreenedforcancer,whichscreeningtestsshouldbeused,andhowoftenthetestsshouldbedone.
Itisimportanttorememberthatyourdoctordoesnotnecessarilythinkyouhavecancerifheorshesuggestsa
screeningtest.Screeningtestsaregivenwhenyouhavenocancersymptoms.Screeningtestsmayberepeatedona
regularbasis.
Ifascreeningtestresultisabnormal,youmayneedtohavemoretestsdonetofindoutifyouhavecancer.Theseare
calleddiagnostictests.

General Information About Prostate Cancer

KEY POINTS
Prostatecancerisadiseaseinwhichmalignant(cancer)cellsforminthetissuesoftheprostate.
ProstatecanceristhemostcommonnonskincanceramongmenintheUnitedStates.
Age,race,andfamilyhistoryofprostatecancercanaffecttheriskofdevelopingprostatecancer.

Prostate cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the

tissues of the prostate.
Theprostateisaglandinthemalereproductivesystemlocatedjustbelowthebladder(theorganthatcollectsand
emptiesurine)andinfrontoftherectum(thelowerpartoftheintestine).Itisaboutthesizeofawalnutandsurrounds
partoftheurethra(thetubethatemptiesurinefromthebladder).Theprostateglandproducesfluidthatmakesup
partofsemen.

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Anatomyofthemalereproductiveandurinarysystems,showingtheprostate,testicles,bladder,
andotherorgans.

Asmenage,theprostatemaygetbigger.Abiggerprostatemayblocktheflowofurinefromthebladderandcause
problemswithsexualfunction.Thisconditioniscalledbenignprostatichyperplasia(BPH),andalthoughitisnotcancer,
surgerymaybeneededtocorrectit.Thesymptomsofbenignprostatichyperplasiaorofotherproblemsinthe
prostatemaybesimilartosymptomsofprostatecancer.

Normalprostateandbenignprostatichyperplasia(BPH).Anormalprostatedoesnotblockthe
flowofurinefromthebladder.Anenlargedprostatepressesonthebladderandurethraand
blockstheflowofurine.

SeethefollowingPDQsummariesformoreinformationaboutprostatecancer:

ProstateCancerPrevention
ProstateCancerTreatment
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Prostate cancer is the most common nonskin cancer among men in the
United States.
Prostatecancerisfoundmainlyinoldermen.Althoughthenumberofmenwithprostatecancerislarge,mostmen
diagnosedwiththisdiseasedonotdiefromit.ProstatecanceroccursmoreofteninAfrican-Americanmenthanin
whitemen.African-Americanmenwithprostatecanceraremorelikelytodiefromthediseasethanwhitemenwith
prostatecancer.

Age, race, and family history of prostate cancer can affect the risk of
developing prostate cancer.
Anythingthatincreasesaperson'schanceofdevelopingadiseaseiscalledariskfactor.Riskfactorsforprostatecancer
includethefollowing:

Being50yearsofageorolder.
Beingblack.
Havingabrother,son,orfatherwhohadprostatecancer.
Eatingadiethighinfatordrinkingalcoholicbeverages.

Prostate Cancer Screening

KEY POINTS
Testsareusedtoscreenfordifferenttypesofcancer.
Thereisnostandardorroutinescreeningtestforprostatecancer.
Teststodetect(find)prostatecancerthatarebeingstudiedincludethefollowing:
Digitalrectalexam
Prostate-specificantigentest

Tests are used to screen for different types of cancer.

Somescreeningtestsareusedbecausetheyhavebeenshowntobehelpfulbothinfindingcancersearlyand
decreasingthechanceofdyingfromthesecancers.Othertestsareusedbecausetheyhavebeenshowntofindcancer
insomepeople;however,ithasnotbeenproveninclinicaltrialsthatuseofthesetestswilldecreasetheriskofdying
fromcancer.
Scientistsstudyscreeningteststofindthosewiththefewestrisksandmostbenefits.Cancerscreeningtrialsalsoare
meanttoshowwhetherearlydetection(findingcancerbeforeitcausessymptoms)decreasesaperson'schanceof
dyingfromthedisease.Forsometypesofcancer,findingandtreatingthediseaseatanearlystagemayresultina
betterchanceofrecovery.

There is no standard or routine screening test for prostate cancer.

Screeningtestsforprostatecancerareunderstudy,andtherearescreeningclinicaltrialstakingplaceinmanypartsof
thecountry.InformationaboutongoingclinicaltrialsisavailablefromtheNCIwebsite.

Tests to detect (find) prostate cancer that are being studied include the
following:
Digital rectal exam
Digitalrectalexam(DRE)isanexamoftherectum.Thedoctorornurseinsertsalubricated,glovedfingerintothe
lowerpartoftherectumtofeeltheprostateforlumpsoranythingelsethatseemsunusual.
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Digitalrectalexam(DRE).Thedoctorinsertsagloved,lubricatedfingerintotherectumandfeels
theprostatetocheckforanythingabnormal.

Prostate-specific antigen test

Aprostate-specificantigen(PSA)testisatestthatmeasuresthelevelofPSAintheblood.PSAisasubstancemade
mostlybytheprostatethatmaybefoundinanincreasedamountinthebloodofmenwhohaveprostatecancer.The
levelofPSAmayalsobehighinmenwhohaveaninfectionorinflammationoftheprostateorbenignprostatic
hyperplasia(BPH;anenlarged,butnoncancerous,prostate).
IfamanhasahighPSAlevelandabiopsyoftheprostatedoesnotshowcancer,aprostatecancergene3(PCA3)test
maybedone.ThistestmeasurestheamountofPCA3intheurine.IfthePCA3levelishigh,anotherbiopsymayhelp
diagnoseprostatecancer.
ScientistsarestudyingthecombinationofPSAtestinganddigitalrectalexamasawaytogetmoreaccurateresults
fromthescreeningtests.

Risks of Prostate Cancer Screening

KEY POINTS
Screeningtestshaverisks.
Therisksofprostatescreeningincludethefollowing:
Findingprostatecancermaynotimprovehealthorhelpamanlivelonger.
Follow-uptests,suchasabiopsy,maybedonetodiagnosecancer.

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False-negativetestresultscanoccur.
False-positivetestresultscanoccur.

Screening tests have risks.

Decisionsaboutscreeningtestscanbedifficult.Notallscreeningtestsarehelpfulandmosthaverisks.Beforehaving
anyscreeningtest,youmaywanttodiscussthetestwithyourdoctor.Itisimportanttoknowtherisksofthetestand
whetherithasbeenproventoreducetheriskofdyingfromcancer.

The risks of prostate screening include the following:

Finding prostate cancer may not improve health or help a man live longer.
Screeningmaynotimproveyourhealthorhelpyoulivelongerifyouhavecancerthathasalreadyspreadtothearea
outsideoftheprostateortootherplacesinyourbody.
Somecancersnevercausesymptomsorbecomelife-threatening,butiffoundbyascreeningtest,thecancermaybe
treated.Findingthesecancersiscalledoverdiagnosis.Itisnotknowniftreatmentofthesecancerswouldhelpyoulive
longerthanifnotreatmentweregiven,andtreatmentsforcancer,suchassurgeryandradiationtherapy,mayhave
serioussideeffects.
Somestudiesofpatientswithprostatecancershowedthesepatientshadahigherriskofdeathfromcardiovascular
(heartandbloodvessel)diseaseorsuicide.Theriskwasgreatestthefirstyearafterdiagnosis.

Follow-up tests, such as a biopsy, may be done to diagnose cancer.

IfaPSAtestishigherthannormal,abiopsyoftheprostatemaybedone.Complicationsfromabiopsyoftheprostate
mayincludefever,pain,bloodintheurineorsemen,andurinarytractinfection.Evenifabiopsyshowsthatapatient
doesnothaveprostatecancer,hemayworrymoreaboutdevelopingprostatecancerinthefuture.

False-negative test results can occur.

Screeningtestresultsmayappeartobenormaleventhoughprostatecancerispresent.Amanwhoreceivesafalsenegativetestresult(onethatshowsthereisnocancerwhentherereallyis)maydelayseekingmedicalcareevenifhe
hassymptoms.

False-positive test results can occur.

Screeningtestresultsmayappeartobeabnormaleventhoughnocancerispresent.Afalse-positivetestresult(one
thatshowsthereiscancerwhentherereallyisn't)cancauseanxietyandisusuallyfollowedbymoretests,(suchas
biopsy)whichalsohaverisks.
Yourdoctorcanadviseyouaboutyourriskforprostatecancerandyourneedforscreeningtests.

About This PDQ Summary

About PDQ
PhysicianDataQuery(PDQ)istheNationalCancerInstitute's(NCI's)comprehensivecancerinformationdatabase.The
PDQdatabasecontainssummariesofthelatestpublishedinformationoncancerprevention,detection,genetics,
treatment,supportivecare,andcomplementaryandalternativemedicine.Mostsummariescomeintwoversions.The
healthprofessionalversionshavedetailedinformationwrittenintechnicallanguage.Thepatientversionsarewritten
ineasy-to-understand,nontechnicallanguage.Bothversionshavecancerinformationthatisaccurateanduptodate
andmostversionsarealsoavailableinSpanish.
PDQisaserviceoftheNCI.TheNCIispartoftheNationalInstitutesofHealth(NIH).NIHisthefederalgovernments
centerofbiomedicalresearch.ThePDQsummariesarebasedonanindependentreviewofthemedicalliterature.They
arenotpolicystatementsoftheNCIortheNIH.
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Purpose of This Summary

ThisPDQcancerinformationsummaryhascurrentinformationaboutprostatecancerscreening.Itismeanttoinform
andhelppatients,families,andcaregivers.Itdoesnotgiveformalguidelinesorrecommendationsformaking
decisionsabouthealthcare.

Reviewers and Updates

EditorialBoardswritethePDQcancerinformationsummariesandkeepthemuptodate.TheseBoardsaremadeupof
expertsincancertreatmentandotherspecialtiesrelatedtocancer.Thesummariesarereviewedregularlyandchanges
aremadewhenthereisnewinformation.Thedateoneachsummary("DateLastModified")isthedateofthemost
recentchange.
Theinformationinthispatientsummarywastakenfromthehealthprofessionalversion,whichisreviewedregularly
andupdatedasneeded,bythePDQScreeningandPreventionEditorialBoard.

Clinical Trial Information

Aclinicaltrialisastudytoanswerascientificquestion,suchaswhetheronetreatmentisbetterthananother.Trialsare
basedonpaststudiesandwhathasbeenlearnedinthelaboratory.Eachtrialanswerscertainscientificquestionsin
ordertofindnewandbetterwaystohelpcancerpatients.Duringtreatmentclinicaltrials,informationiscollected
abouttheeffectsofanewtreatmentandhowwellitworks.Ifaclinicaltrialshowsthatanewtreatmentisbetterthan
onecurrentlybeingused,thenewtreatmentmaybecome"standard."Patientsmaywanttothinkabouttakingpartin
aclinicaltrial.Someclinicaltrialsareopenonlytopatientswhohavenotstartedtreatment.
ClinicaltrialsarelistedinPDQandcanbefoundonlineatNCI'swebsite.Manycancerdoctorswhotakepartinclinical
trialsarealsolistedinPDQ.Formoreinformation,calltheCancerInformationService1-800-4-CANCER(1-800-4226237).

Permission to Use This Summary

PDQisaregisteredtrademark.ThecontentofPDQdocumentscanbeusedfreelyastext.Itcannotbeidentifiedasan
NCIPDQcancerinformationsummaryunlessthewholesummaryisshownanditisupdatedregularly.However,auser
wouldbeallowedtowriteasentencesuchasNCIsPDQcancerinformationsummaryaboutbreastcancerprevention
statestherisksinthefollowingway:[includeexcerptfromthesummary].
ThebestwaytocitethisPDQsummaryis:
NationalCancerInstitute:PDQProstateCancerScreening.Bethesda,MD:NationalCancerInstitute.Datelast
modified<MM/DD/YYYY>.Availableat:http://www.cancer.gov/types/prostate/patient/prostate-screening-pdq.
Accessed<MM/DD/YYYY>.
Imagesinthissummaryareusedwithpermissionoftheauthor(s),artist,and/orpublisherforuseinthePDQ
summariesonly.IfyouwanttouseanimagefromaPDQsummaryandyouarenotusingthewholesummary,you
mustgetpermissionfromtheowner.ItcannotbegivenbytheNationalCancerInstitute.Informationaboutusingthe
imagesinthissummary,alongwithmanyotherimagesrelatedtocancercanbefoundinVisualsOnline.VisualsOnline
isacollectionofmorethan2,000scientificimages.

Disclaimer
Theinformationinthesesummariesshouldnotbeusedtomakedecisionsaboutinsurancereimbursement.More
informationoninsurancecoverageisavailableonCancer.govontheManagingCancerCarepage.

Contact Us
MoreinformationaboutcontactingusorreceivinghelpwiththeCancer.govwebsitecanbefoundonourContactUs
forHelppage.QuestionscanalsobesubmittedtoCancer.govthroughthewebsitesE-mailUs.
Updated:July31,2015
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Most text on the National Cancer Institute website may be reproduced or reused freely. The National Cancer Institute should
be credited as the source. Please note that blog posts that are written by individuals from outside the government may be
owned by the writer, and graphics may be owned by their creator. In such cases, it is necessary to contact the writer, artist, or
publisher to obtain permission for reuse.

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