Introduction
Summary
Prostate cancer is the second most commonly occurring cancer in men and the fourth most commonly occurring cancer overall. In 2024, more than 1.5 million cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed worldwide, representing almost 8% of the total cancer burden. Almost 420 000 people died from prostate cancer in 2024. There are large geographical variations in incidence and mortality rates across countries and world regions. Overdiagnosis – the diagnosis of a tumour that would not otherwise progress to cause symptoms or death in an individual’s lifetime – is thought to be a serious concern in managing prostate cancer. In Europe, for example, a large heterogeneity of the trends in incidence of prostate cancer contrasts with a more uniform decrease in mortality from prostate cancer. Risk-stratified screening for prostate cancer, which may integrate prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing, risk stratification, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided biopsy, could decrease the number of men who are unnecessarily diagnosed with prostate cancer and reduce the associated problems of overtreatment.