In this study, Jonas Hugosson of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden and colleagues tried to determine whether the benefits of prostate cancer screening outweighed the risks. They randomly divided 20,000 men born between 1930 and 1944 into two groups; every two years, one group received the prostate-specific antigen test while the second group, known as the control group, did not undergo screening.

If the PSA test result reached a predetermined abnormal level, the men underwent follow-up testing, such as digital rectal exams, prostate ultrasounds, and biopsies….. (more…)