Reconciling the Effects of Screening on Prostate Cancer Mortality in the ERSPC and PLCO Trials
Authors: Join Y. Luh, Steven E. Finkelstein, Jeff M. Michalski, Howard Sandler MD
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2018)

Letters17 April 2018Reconciling the Effects of Screening on Prostate Cancer Mortality in the ERSPC and PLCO TrialsJoin Y. Luh, MD, Steven E. Finkelstein, MD, Jeff M. Michalski, MD, MBA, and Howard Sandler MD, MSJoin Y. Luh, MDProvidence St. Joseph Health, Eureka, California (J.Y.L.)Search for more papers by this author, Steven E. Finkelstein, MDBay Regional Cancer Center at Advanced Urology Institute, Panama City, Florida (S.E.F.)Search for more papers by this author, Jeff M. Michalski, MD, MBAWashington University, St. Louis, Missouri (J.M.M.)Search for more papers by this author, and Howard Sandler MD, MSCedar Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California (H.S.M.)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/L17-0734 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:We read Tsodikov and colleagues' article (1) with interest. Of the 2 prostate screening trials ERSPC and PLCO, the latter experienced the most contamination. With only 7 years of follow-up, 85% of the screening group actually received PSA screening and 52% of the control group were screened by the sixth year. The authors of the PLCO stated later (2) that their study should not be interpreted as a trial of screening versus no screening but rather as one of annual screening versus “usual care”; at the time the study was initiated, PSA screening was ubiquitous.Tsodikov and ...References1. Tsodikov A, Gulati R, Heijnsdijk EAM, Pinsky PF, Moss SM, Qiu S, et al. Reconciling the effects of screening on prostate cancer mortality in the ERSPC and PLCO trials. Ann Intern Med. 2017;167:449-55. [PMID: 28869989]. doi:10.7326/M16-2586 LinkGoogle Scholar2. Pinsky PF, Blacka A, Kramer BS, Miller A, Prorok PC, Berg C. Assessing contamination and compliance in the prostate component of the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial. Clin Trials. 2010;7:303-11. [PMID: 20571134] doi:10.1177/1740774510374091 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Crawford ED, Grubb R, Black A, Andriole GL, Chen MH, Izmirlian G, et al. Comorbidity and mortality results from a randomized prostate cancer screening trial. J Clin Oncol. 2011;29:355-61. [PMID: 21041707] doi:10.1200/JCO.2010.30.5979 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Aizer AA, Paly JJ, Zietman AL, Nguyen PL, Beard CJ, Rao SK, et al. Multidisciplinary care and pursuit of active surveillance in low-risk prostate cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2012;30:3071-6. [PMID: 22851571] doi:10.1200/JCO.2012.42.8466 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Providence St. Joseph Health, Eureka, California (J.Y.L.)Bay Regional Cancer Center at Advanced Urology Institute, Panama City, Florida (S.E.F.)Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri (J.M.M.)Cedar Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California (H.S.M.)Note: All authors are members of the Prostate Individualized Screening Matters Group.Disclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=L17-0734. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoReconciling the Effects of Screening on Prostate Cancer Mortality in the ERSPC and PLCO Trials Alex Tsodikov , Roman Gulati , Eveline A.M. Heijnsdijk , Paul F. Pinsky , Sue M. Moss , Sheng Qiu , Tiago M. de Carvalho , Jonas Hugosson , Christine D. Berg , Anssi Auvinen , Gerald L. Andriole , Monique J. Roobol , E. David Crawford , Vera Nelen , Maciej Kwiatkowski , Marco Zappa , Marcos Luján , Arnauld Villers , Eric J. Feuer , Harry J. de Koning , Angela B. Mariotto , and Ruth Etzioni Reconciling the Effects of Screening on Prostate Cancer Mortality in the ERSPC and PLCO Trials Philip C. Prorok and Anthony B. Miller Reconciling the Effects of Screening on Prostate Cancer Mortality in the ERSPC and PLCO Trials Stuart G. Baker Reconciling the Effects of Screening on Prostate Cancer Mortality in the ERSPC and PLCO Trials Shinkan Tokudome , Ryosuke Ando , and Shuji Hashimoto Reconciling the Effects of Screening on Prostate Cancer Mortality in the ERSPC and PLCO Trials Alex Tsodikov , Roman Gulati , and Ruth Etzioni Reconciling the Effects of Screening on Prostate Cancer Mortality in the ERSPC and PLCO Trials Philippe Autier and Peter Boyle Metrics 17 April 2018Volume 168, Issue 8Page: 607-608KeywordsAbsolute risk reductionCancer screeningDisclosureHazard ratioMedical risk factorsMortalityProstate cancer ePublished: 17 April 2018 Issue Published: 17 April 2018 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2018 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...