prostate cancer > Screening

There are controversies around prostate cancer screening, specifically to do with PSA tests. Some cancers may be missed (known as false negative results) and sometimes the PSA test may suggest a cancer is there when in fact it is not (known as a false positive result). This confirms the importance of also performing a DRE because there have been cases when a PSA level has been "normal" but the DRE is suspicious for cancer.

Other issues around detecting prostate cancer have centered around the "tiger and pussycat" debate.

Many cancers will be of low risk if detected early and therefore not pose a serious risk to the patient. If the patient has an aggressive "tiger" cancer then radical treatment using surgery or radiotherapy can be curative if the condition is caught early.

Therefore if a PSA and DRE investigation indicates there may be a risk of prostate cancer, the only definitive way of knowing whether the cancer is a "tiger" or a "pussycat" is to undertake a biopsy to analyse the cells.