Evaluating the usefulness of randomized clinical trials in prostate cancer screening: A systematic review

Background: Prostate Cancer screening plays a crucial role in identifying the second leading cause of cancerrelated deaths worldwide, with more than 1.2 million cases reported in 2018 alone. Effective screening methods aim to achieve early detection and prompt management, while limiting overdiagnosis and treatment. Randomized controlled trials serve as the gold standard for evaluating screening methods and form the foundation for developing screening guidelines. However, there is concern in the research community about accumulating waste in clinical literature as some of these studies lack critical elements necessary for reproducibility and validity. This study aims to evaluate both the usefulness and transparency of randomized controlled trials on prostate cancer screening, utilizing a previously published 13-item usefulness criteria developed by van ’t Hooft et al. The goal is to ultimately evaluate the overall utility of the trials.