Prostate cancer accounts for nearly one in four new cancers diagnosed in men across the European Union, according to the Hellenic Urological Society (EOE), which marked European Prostate Cancer Day by highlighting the disease's continuing toll on men's health and recent European efforts to improve early detection and diagnosis.
Citing the latest 2024 estimates from the European Cancer Information System (ECIS), the EOE said prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among men in the European Union, making up 22.3% of all new cancer cases diagnosed in men, or nearly one in four.
19 new diagnoses a day in Greece
In Greece, estimates from the Global Cancer Observatory (GLOBOCAN 2022), run by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), put the number of new prostate cancer cases at 7,036, accounting for 19.2% of all new cancer cases diagnosed in Greek men. That works out to an average of more than 19 new diagnoses every day.
Early detection and diagnosis
These figures carry added weight as Europe moves toward a more systematic approach to detecting and diagnosing the disease early. In August 2026, the European Commission announced that work had begun on the European Commission Initiative on Prostate Cancer (EC-PrC). The initiative aims to develop European recommendations for screening and diagnosis based on available scientific evidence, along with a common quality framework for prostate cancer patient care services.
A growing challenge in the decades ahead
The burden of prostate cancer is expected to rise significantly in the coming decades, the EOE said. According to the Lancet Commission on Prostate Cancer, new cases worldwide are projected to increase from about 1.4 million in 2020 to 2.9 million a year by 2040, while annual deaths are estimated to rise by around 85%, from 375,000 to nearly 700,000.
The society said this expected increase is mainly linked to an aging and growing global population, making the development of effective early detection strategies even more important.
Screening becomes more targeted
The latest scientific evidence is gradually changing the way prostate cancer screening is approached, the EOE noted.
The European Association of Urology (EAU) guidelines for 2026 support a more individualized approach to screening, tailored to each man's level of risk.
The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test remains a key tool, but evaluation no longer stops at a single reading. A urologist can also weigh factors such as age, family history and a man's overall health, and where further investigation is needed, draw on additional tools including prostate MRI scans and specific risk calculation models.
The same guidelines recommend an MRI scan before biopsy when localized prostate cancer is suspected. MRI results, combined with other clinical data, can help urologists better assess which men actually need to undergo a biopsy.
The EAU's 2026 guidelines also incorporate newer scientific evidence on the use of MRI, risk calculation models and newer imaging techniques.
The EOE said the direction of modern urology is clear: the goal is not to run more tests on every man, but to identify early those at greater risk of developing a clinically significant form of the disease, while avoiding unnecessary biopsies and treatments wherever it is safe to do so.
Europe rethinks how it organizes early detection
European policy on prostate cancer is moving in the same direction. The PRAISE-U program (PRostate cancer Awareness and Initiative for Screening in the European Union) was designed to explore how organized early detection programs, with screening tailored to each man's risk and to the capacities of different national health systems, could be implemented across Europe.
The next step is the European Commission Initiative on Prostate Cancer (EC-PrC). On August 19, 2026, the European Commission announced that work on the initiative had already begun, aiming to develop the first European, scientifically grounded guidelines and quality requirements for prostate cancer screening and diagnosis.
Andreas Skolarikos, President of the Hellenic Urological Society, said that when almost one in four cancers diagnosed in men in the European Union involves the prostate, it becomes clear how important early detection of the disease is. He said the answer today is not simply for all men to undergo the same tests at the same frequency. Skolarikos said modern urology is moving toward more individualized screening based on each man's estimated risk, using PSA alongside newer diagnostic tools, and that the new European initiative marks an important step toward a more systematic, evidence-based approach to early detection of prostate cancer.
Talking to a urologist
Marking European Prostate Cancer Day, the Hellenic Urological Society noted that prostate cancer usually causes no symptoms in its early stages. For that reason, it said, it is important for men to discuss individualized risk assessment with their urologist and jointly decide when screening should begin and how often it needs to be repeated.
