About 20% of men who come to autopsy have a cancer in their prostate gland which had not been diagnosed while they were alive, i.e.they did not have clinically‐evident
Prostate cancer.However, as a result of this undiagnosed cancer they will have had
Increased blood levels of prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) while they were alive, and
This is what screening tests for prostate cancer detect.Given this, if a population‐
Based screening programme to detect prostate cancer is introduced, which of the
Following statements are correct? (Select all that apply)
A)There is likely to be a high rate of false positive tests for clinical prostate cancer
B)The incidence rate of prostate cancer will increase
C)The mortality rate of prostate cancer will fall
D)All of the above
E)A and B are both correct

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The test will be positive in many men who would never have had a clinical
diagnosis made during their life, so the number of false positives will be unusually high
(A); and because they have laboratory evidence (histology) of the cancer, they will be
included as new cases of disease in the numerator of the incidence rate so this will
increase (B).Mortality from prostate cancer may fall if more aggressive disease is
detected earlier (some ecological research suggests this is so), but it will not fall
because of increased detection of disease that would not normally have been
diagnosed while the man was alive.

About 20% of Men Who Come to Autopsy Have a Cancer