Prostate specific antigen, or PSA testing, was introduced to the Tyrol in 1988 and since 1993 it has been freely available to all men ages 45 to 75, and to men under 40 with a family history of the prostate disease, said lead author Georg Bartsch of the University of Innsbruck.

Bartsch -- part of the international team of medical experts that makes up the Tyrol Prostate Cancer Screening Group -- said nearly 87 percent of eligible men in Tyrol have been tested at least once since the program was introduced in 1988.

The study, published in the urology journal BJU International, found that by 2005, cancer deaths had fallen by 54 percent, compared with 29 percent for the rest of Austria, which hadn't benefited from the program.

"Our findings suggest that the combination of free PSA testing and free treatment for any resulting prostate cancer can lead to significant reductions in death rates," Bartsch said in a statement. "This free treatment normally involved surgical removal of the prostate."