The value of screening for prostate cancer has been a contentious issue within the medical literature for several decades.At the crux of the matter lies a judgment call of whether the potential benefits of screening,a reduction in prostate cancer and all-cause mortality,outweigh the limitations,overdiagnosisand overtreatment.The study by Schr(o)der et al.reports 9,11 and 13-year follow-up data on men participating in the European randomized study of screening for prostate cancer (ERSPC).While the authors report a significant reduction in prostate cancer mortality,they conclude that potential harms associated with screening currently circumvent any recommendation for a population-based approach to screening for prostate cancer.