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.
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.
Grubb
Robert L
RL
Division of Urologic Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Pinsky
Paul F
PF
Greenlee
Robert T
RT
Izmirlian
Grant
G
Miller
Anthony B
AB
Hickey
Thomas P
TP
Riley
Thomas L
TL
Mabie
Jerome E
JE
Levin
David L
DL
Chia
David
D
Kramer
Barnett S
BS
Reding
Douglas J
DJ
Church
Timothy R
TR
Yokochi
Lance A
LA
Kvale
Paul A
PA
Weissfeld
Joel L
JL
Urban
Donald A
DA
Buys
Saundra S
SS
Gelmann
Edward P
EP
Ragard
Lawrence R
LR
Crawford
E David
ED
Prorok
Philip C
PC
Gohagan
John K
JK
Berg
Christine D
CD
Andriole
Gerald L
GL
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
D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen