Prostate cancer and PSA screening.

BACKGROUND

Each year over 12,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in Australia and there is an increasing need to keep up with a reasonable knowledge of the disease for day to day patient management.

OBJECTIVE

To summarise the main issues in prostate cancer screening including the methods of diagnosis, treatment and follow up of patients with prostate cancer in all stages of the disease.

DISCUSSION

This review is intended as a practical guide to enable general practitioners to play an effective role alongside the other specialists involved in the multidisciplinary management of patients with this common and controversial disease.