Nearly half of screen-detected prostate cancer cases are overdiagnosed
Researchers say they're the first to put a number on it in Australia
Forty-one per cent of cancers detected by PSA screening can be classed as overdiagnosis, researchers say.
Overdiagnosis of prostate cancer is a concern across the developed world, but researchers from Bond University say they are the first to quantify the problem in Australia.
The findings are based on an analysis of longitudinal cancer data extending from 1982 to 2012.
The researchers showed the lifetime risk of a prostate cancer diagnosis was 19.7% in 2012 and the lifetime risk of an unnecessary diagnosis — one that would never lead to symptoms – was 8%.
