The results of prostate cancer screening and the problem of the hyperdiagnosis of the disease in the Republic of Belarus

The prostate cancer (PC) screening program elaborated in the Republic of Belarus, which envisages the determination of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels once every two years among 50–65-year-old men and 6-point lateralized transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsy at a PSA level of > 4.0 ng / ml, could rule out the probability of diagnosing clinically insignificant PC. Out of 20,786 male examinees, 249 (1.2 %) patients were found to have PC. Of them, 190 patients underwent D»Amico cancer risk stratification. A low-risk group included 11 (5.6 %) patients, for whom follow-up tactics might be selected; the other patients should receive appropriate treatment. Therefore, the problem of hyperdiagnosis is not relevant during the first PC screening round in Belarus and cannot constrain the further introduction of the screening program.

prostate cancer, screening, prostate-specific antigen, hyperdiagnosis