Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in the Netherlands. Each year, more than 15,000 men are diagnosed and over 3,000 men die from the disease. Many tumors are detected at a late stage, even though early detection has the potential to save lives.
The Netherlands currently has no population screening program for prostate cancer because early detection does not automatically lead to better outcomes. The traditional PSA test, which measures prostate-specific antigen in the blood, often produces unclear or misleading results, as elevated levels are frequently harmless. This leads to overdiagnosis, unnecessary treatments, and additional stress. The current approach, in which testing is offered individually through general practitioners, is also not sufficiently effective. Many men are not reached, which results in unequal access to care and differences in health outcomes.
These well-known limitations have prompted the development of a pilot focused on risk-based population screening. The study aligns with European recommendations that call for investigating the implementation of systematic and modern prostate cancer screening.
Urologist Pim van Leeuwen explains that further research into the effectiveness of population screening for prostate cancer is needed to assess the value of current screening methods. He adds that this research also offers an opportunity to refine the screening protocol and tailor it more specifically to the individual man, so that men with an increased risk in particular benefit from an early diagnosis of prostate cancer.
The pilot will be conducted under the leadership of Erasmus MC, Department of Urology, in collaboration with the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Radboudumc, Andros Clinics, the Prostate Cancer Foundation, and Ghent University.
More information about the pilot and the study design is available via: Pilot studyc for modern prostate cancer screening in the Netherlands | KWF (in Dutch)
At the Netherlands Cancer Institute, we conduct research aimed at detecting cancer at an earlier stage. Earlier detection increases survival rates and improves quality of life. Our work focuses on improving early diagnostic methods and on applying a risk-based approach that enables early detection in people at the highest risk while avoiding overdiagnosis. Early cancer detection also helps reduce pressure on the healthcare system and prevents unnecessary healthcare costs.