Call for new prostate cancer approach
The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA) and the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA) have welcomed Sydney University cancer epidemiologist Professor Bruce Armstrong’s call for a more organised approach to the early detection of prostate cancer.
Armstrong made the call at the recent annual conference of the Public Health Association of Australia in Brisbane. He recommended that a committee be established to oversee a review of evidence around prostate cancer screening to develop a program that maximises benefits while minimising harm.
“This is in line with the intent of our College’s recently released position paper relating to the optimal use of Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) for cancer detection,” RCPA president Professor Paul McKenzie said.
A PSA blood test looks for raised levels of a protein produced by the prostate which can indicate prostate cancer.
High PSA levels can occur five to 10 years before the onset of prostate cancer symptoms. Early prostate cancer often has no symptoms.
“Although evidence of the mortality benefit of PSA testing is only now emerging and has not been universally accepted, we recognise the reality that there has been, for several decades, a high level of testing for this common cancer among older Australian men, occurring without a framework of widely endorsed guidelines,” McKenzie said.
“There are substantial concerns that the existing unorganised use of PSA testing can potentially cause men more harm than good in some circumstances. We believe that testing protocols developed using the best available evidence, with a robust system for data collection on performance and outcomes offer the best chance of minimising this potential harm.”
PCFA chief executive Dr Anthony Lowe said there was growing evidence PSA testing reduces deaths from prostate cancer.
“Collectively, we are failing men by giving mixed messages about who should be tested and at what age, and by not providing sufficient decision support for men who have an abnormal test result,” Lowe said.
INFO: www.prostate.org.au
