> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.foodconsumer.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Prostate cancer news: Prostate cancer screening does not save lives - URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/prostate_cancer_news_0723120632/ - Published: 2012-07-23T19:31:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-22T16:23:24.000Z - Description: Danish researchers report in Acta Oncologica that prostate cancer incidence rose from 29.2 to 76.2 per 100,000 person-years between 1978 and 2009, while mortality held at 19 per 100,000 throughout — more cases diagnosed, no change in deaths. - Author: Food Consumer - Tags: Drug, Health News, #vivvo-import By david Liu, PHD Monday July 23, 2012 (foodconsumer.org) -- The rationale behind prostate cancer screening is that early diagnosis of the disease can lead to early treatment, which in turn can save lives. A new Danish study found prostate cancer screening based on the PSA test does not save lives although it diagnoses more cases of the disease. M. Outzen of Danish Cancer Society Research Center in Copenhagen , Denmark and colleagues reported July 19, 2012 in the journal Acta Oncologia that in Denmark, the incidence of prostate cancer more than doubled from 1978 to 2009 while the mortality of the disease remained absolutely unchanged. The researchers ventured to investigate the trends in prostate cancer incidence and mortality in Denmark during 1978 to 2009 with special focus on the recent 15 years because they noticed the incidence had increased during the last 15 years whereas the mortality had remained the same. Outzen et al. searched a national database called Danish Cancer Registry and Register of Causes of Death and obtained information on all cases of prostate cancer (PC) and all PC related deaths during 1978 to 2009. They found the age-standardised incidence rate of prostate cancer increased to 76.2 per 100 000 person-years in 2008-2009 from 29.2 per 100 000 person-years in 1978-1982 whereas the corresponding mortality rates of PC remained exactly the same during the entire study period, that is, 19 per 100 000 person-years. The authors noticed that the incidence increase began primarily in the mid-1990s. The most drastic increase in the incidence was found among men aged 60 years or older and the highest relative increase in age-specific incidence rates was among men born between 1943 and 1947. The authors also noticed the distribution of stage had changed since 1998, with an increasing proportion of prostate cancer patients with localised disease. This could suggest that prostate cancer screening diagnosed more cases of low-grade disease. They concluded "The observed increase in PC incidence during the period 1993-2009 in Denmark may be attributed primarily to increasing unsystematic use of prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing." "The mortality rates remained stable during the same period suggesting that there is not yet any major influence of intensified PSA screening and more frequent use of curatively intended therapy on the overall prognosis of PC." Another study published online on 19 July in the prestigious medical journal the New England Journal of Medicine showed radical prostatectomy, a surgical procedure that removes the entire prostate gland and some surrounding tissue was no better than the watch and see approach for patients with localized prostate cancer (low grade disease rarely posing any life-threatening risk). Prostate cancer screening relies on a test called prostate-specific antigen or PSA test, which the discoverer said should not be used for screening the disease because it is not reliable and can cause more harm than good in many age groups of men. PSA test can be best used to monitor the progression of the disease in patients, according to the method inventor.