A personalised approach to prostate cancer screening could help to prevent thousands of men from undergoing treatment they do not need, a study suggests.
Researchers at University College London say that an approach based on a man's age and genetic makeup could greatly reduce the risk of over-diagnosis, compared to screening all 55 to 79-year-old men with the PSA test.
They also claim that personalised screening could save the NHS money, as 50 per cent fewer men would need to undergo screening and many unnecessary courses of treatment would be avoided.
The study was funded by Cancer Research UK and presented at the NCRI Cancer Conference in Liverpool today (November 5th).
Study author Dr Nora Pashayan, from University College London, said: 'We don't have a screening programme for prostate cancer because the benefits are outweighed by the harms.
'Identifying men who are more likely to develop prostate cancer and targeting them for screening could potentially save thousands of men from over-diagnosis and unnecessary treatment.'
Meanwhile, a group of scientists at Sweden's Sahlgrenska Academy have claimed that active surveillance can reduce the need for radiation treatment and surgery in men with prostate cancer.