May 15, 2026

Updated Cochrane review into whether prostate cancer screening reduces deaths

Early detection of prostate cancer through screening has long been debated. Multiple trials have investigated prostate cancer screening over the years, commonly using the Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) test. This research has highlighted issues around the rates of false positive results, potentially causing anxiety and unnecessary investigations, overdiagnosis, potentially resulting in unnecessary treatments, and false negative results, leading to missed cancers.

Cochrane last published a review of the evidence into whether using the PSA test for prostate cancer screening reduces the risk of dying from prostate cancer in 2013, which did not find sufficient evidence that screening reduced prostate cancer deaths.

Now Cochrane has conducted an updated review into the evidence, to assess whether longer term data from ongoing trials can tell us more definitively whether there is a mortality benefit. Their review analysed recent data from six trials involving almost 800,000 participants across Europe and North America.
This review looked at clinical trials designed to assess mortality, so does not include comprehensive data on harms (overdiagnosis), treatment, costs, and other factors considered by policy makers when deciding whether to implement screening.

Journalists attended this press briefing where the authors of the review presented their findings and answered questions. 

Speakers included:

Prof Philipp Dahm, Professor of Urology, University of Minnesota, and senior author of the Cochrane review

Dr Juan Franco, Evidence Synthesis Unit Lead, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, and first author of the Cochrane review

This Briefing was accompanied by an SMC Roundup of comments.