Prostate Cancer Incidence Rates Have Started to Decrease in Central Italy

Abstract

The widespread use of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing has dramatically changed the epidemiology of prostate cancer. Growing incidence rates have been documented in almost all western countries following the increased usage of PSA screening. In the United States after a period of huge increase in incidence, rates have decreased to values lower than those of the pre-PSA era. Similar changes have been documented also in the area of the Tuscany Cancer Registry, central Italy, where prostate cancer incidence rates doubled from the early 1990s to 2003 and afterwards decreased. This is the first evidence, to our knowledge, of a decline in prostate cancer incidence in Italy following the screening-related increase.