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Updated: Aug 19, 2026
Microarray-based Identification of Individual HERV Loci Expression: Application to Biomarker Discovery in Prostate Cancer
Published on: November 2, 2013
Survival prospects after screen-detection of prostate cancer
1Department of Oncology, University College, London, UK.
Objective:
To ascertain more realistic survival values for screen-detected prostate cancer than those in current use which are derived from conventionally presenting, usually symptomatic, populations.
Materials And Methods:
Survival data for conventionally detected cases were derived from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database for men diagnosed in the years 1983-1988. The incidence of screen-detected prostate cancer by age and grade was taken from published data.
Results:
For a cohort of men, initially 55 years old, screen-detected cases were estimated to outnumber by 2-3-fold, depending on age, those detected by conventional means. By assuming various survival characteristics for the screen-detected cases the mean lead time was estimated to be 9 years. Because screen-detected cases usually have clinically localized disease they are commonly advised on survival times derived from conventionally detected cases. Applying these survival times over-predicts the number of deaths by factors of at least 3.4, 1.9 and 1.5 at 65, 75 and 85 years old, respectively.
Conclusions:
Screening detects prostate cancer a mean of 9 years before clinical presentation. The prognosis of screen-detected prostate cancer is considerably better than that of conventionally presenting localized disease. The advice given to patients with early prostate cancer should take account of this.
