The high prevalence of undiagnosed prostate cancer at autopsy: implications for epidemiology and treatment of prostate cancer in the Prostate‐specific Antigen‐era

Widespread prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) screening detects many cancers that would have otherwise gone undiagnosed. To estimate the prevalence of unsuspected prostate cancer, we reviewed 19 studies of prostate cancer discovered at autopsy among 6,024 men. Among men aged 70–79, tumor was found in 36% of Caucasians and 51% of African‐Americans. This enormous prevalence, coupled with the high sensitivity of PSA screening, has led to the marked...