title: Prostate cancer screening in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian cancer screening trial: update on findings from the initial four rounds of screening in a randomized trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the results of the first four rounds (T0-T3) of prostate cancer screening in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) cancer screening trial (designed to determine the value of screening in the four cancers), that for prostate cancer is evaluating whether annual screening with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and a digital rectal examination (DRE) reduces prostate cancer-specific mortality.
  
  
  METHODS
  In all, 38 349 men aged 55-74 years were randomized to undergo annual screening with PSA (abnormal >4.0 ng/mL) and a DRE. The follow-up of abnormal screening results was at the discretion of subjects' physicians. PLCO staff obtained records related to diagnostic follow-up of positive screen results.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compliance with screening decreased slightly from 89% at baseline to 85% at T3. Both PSA positivity rates (range 7.7-8.8% at T0-T3) and DRE positivity rates (range 6.8-7.6% at T0-T3) were relatively constant over time. The positive predictive value (PPV) of a PSA level of >4.0 ng/mL decreased from 17.9% at T0 to 10.4-12.3% at T1-T3; the PPV for DRE (in the absence of a positive PSA test) was constant over time (2.9-3.6%). Cancer was diagnosed in 1902 men (4.9%). Screen-detected cancers at T0 (549) were more likely to be clinical stage III/IV (5.8%) and to have a Gleason score of 7-10 (34%) than screen-detected cancers at T1-T3 (1.5-4.2% stage III/IV and 24-27% Gleason score 7-10 among 1054 cases).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present findings on serial prostate screening are similar to those reported from other multi-round screening studies. Determining the effect of PSA screening on prostate cancer mortality awaits further follow-up.
authors.affiliation: Division of Urologic Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
authors.forename: Robert L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Grubb
authors.forename: Paul F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Pinsky
authors.forename: Robert T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Greenlee
authors.forename: Grant
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Izmirlian
authors.forename: Anthony B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Thomas P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Hickey
authors.forename: Thomas L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Riley
authors.forename: Jerome E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Mabie
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Levin
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chia
authors.forename: Barnett S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Kramer
authors.forename: Douglas J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Reding
authors.forename: Timothy R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Church
authors.forename: Lance A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Yokochi
authors.forename: Paul A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Kvale
authors.forename: Joel L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Weissfeld
authors.forename: Donald A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Urban
authors.forename: Saundra S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Buys
authors.forename: Edward P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Gelmann
authors.forename: Lawrence R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Ragard
authors.forename: E David
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Crawford
authors.forename: Philip C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Prorok
authors.forename: John K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Gohagan
authors.forename: Christine D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Berg
authors.forename: Gerald L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Andriole
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D051517:Digital Rectal Examination; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000097:blood*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality
chemical_list: D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen