HQ Team
October 31, 2025: A new study finds that screening for prostate cancer using a simple blood test can significantly reduce the risk of death from the disease, providing strong new evidence in a long-debated area of men’s health.
The research, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, is one of the most extensive and long-running trials of its kind. Starting in 1993, the study eventually expanded across eight European countries, following more than 162,000 men aged 55 to 69 for a median of 23 years. The men were randomly split into two groups: one was regularly invited for Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) blood tests, and the other was not screened.
The key findings after more than two decades of follow-up are clear:
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13% Reduction in Deaths: Men invited for PSA screening were 13% less likely to die from prostate cancer.
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Lives Saved per Person Screened: The research concluded that one life was saved for every 456 men invited for screening. Furthermore, for every 12 men diagnosed with prostate cancer, one death was averted.
The study confirms that PSA testing saves lives, but experts caution that the benefits must be balanced against potential harms.
The significant benefit is the reduced mortality. As one urology expert noted, these findings are “comparable to that seen with breast or bowel cancer screening”. The study authors concluded that PSA screening has a “more favourable harm-to-benefit profile than previously estimated”.
However, the potential harms “remain a critical concern”. A major issue is overdiagnosis—the detection of slow-growing cancers that would never have become life-threatening. Diagnosing these cancers can lead to overtreatment, with patients facing potential side effects from procedures like surgery or radiotherapy, including life-changing effects such as erectile dysfunction.
Prostate cancer screening
The findings have ignited discussions among health experts. In the UK, cancer screening experts are now assessing whether to introduce a national prostate cancer screening program, with a decision expected before the end of the year.
The focus is shifting toward a smarter, more targeted strategy. Researchers highlight the “need for a more targeted strategy for prostate cancer screening that focuses on identifying population subgroups that are most likely to benefit from early detection while reducing unnecessary interventions”. This could involve using new tools like genetic risk scores or more advanced blood tests to identify men at the highest risk. The complexity of prostate cancer diagnosis and the limitations of relying solely on biopsy results calls for a more comprehensive evaluation that considers multiple clinical factors to ensure that patients receive the most appropriate care.
This new evidence provides a clearer path forward in the fight against prostate cancer, emphasizing that informed screening can indeed save lives.
