ProsDetect II V1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Optimising Primary Care Risk Stratification for Clinically Significant Prostate Cancer: ProsDetect II
IRAS ID
360965
Contact name
Claire Friedemann Smith
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford / Research Governance, Ethics and Assurance
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
000000, 000000
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 31 days
Research summary
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer and the second most common cause of cancer death among men in the UK. Risk varies by age, with those aged 75-79 years at highest risk, and ethnicity, with Black men twice as likely to be diagnosed as White men. The number of people diagnosed with prostate cancer has also increased over the last 10 years, partly due to more cancers that are unlikely to cause harm and do not need urgent treatment being diagnosed. The challenge for doctors is how to improve diagnosis of prostate cancer that should be treated (clinically significant prostate cancer (CSPC)), while avoiding over investigating and over diagnosing men with slow growing cancer.
Most prostate cancers are diagnosed after an abnormal Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test in primary care. While screening with PSA tests is not recommended in the UK, people with a prostate aged ≥50 years with lower urinary tract symptoms can ask for a PSA test. Once these people reach age ≥80 years, PSA testing is only recommended if they are experiencing symptoms of late-stage cancer, for example bone pain. Research with older adults has shown that they would be open to stopping testing if their GP recommended it based on age or poor health, but GPs who have ‘overused’ PSA tests say that they were following their patient’s preference or had assumed that because they had had screening in the past that they would want to continue. The limited and sometimes conflicting recommendations around PSA testing in older age has contributed to this confusion among GPs and patients.
This research will interview older people with a prostate (≥80 years) about their preferences for PSA testing and the information that they need to make decisions around whether to have a PSA test.
REC name
North West - Greater Manchester West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/NW/0341
Date of REC Opinion
14 Nov 2025
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion