The EU has now recognised the benefits of screening for prostate cancer, using the PSA Prostate Specific Antigen blood test. The PSA test is an “indicator” only, as there is still no precise and definitive prostate cancer test suitable for large scale use.

Three “game changers” have led to the new EU policy, 1) prostate cancer deaths are increasing across Europe, 2) Establishment objections to the PSA test are outdated and don’t recognise the benefits of MRI scanning as a non-invasive investigation that will minimise the number of ‘false positive’ diagnoses, and 3) new risk algorithms have been developed to ensure that only those men most at risk are targeted.  

The challenge for the EU is in persuading the member 27 countries to consider implementing such risk-stratified PSA screening. 

The UK is of course now outside of the EU but the same challenge exists here, as population screening does not take place  (cancerworld.net  – click Articles/ Policy/ PSA Population Screening).