Symptomless men ‘need prostate checks’

MEN should come forward for prostate cancer checks even when they do not have symptoms, University of Cambridge scientists suggest.

In a review published in BMC Medicine, researchers said national guidelines and public messaging campaigns place too much emphasis on urinary symptoms, despite a lack of evidence linking them to prostate cancer.

This gives men a “false sense of security if they don’t have any urinary symptoms”, said Vincent Gnanapragasam, professor of urology at the University of Cambridge.

“We need to emphasise that prostate cancer can be a silent or asymptomatic disease, particularly in its curable stages,” he added.

He said men “shouldn’t be afraid to speak to their GP about getting tested”, especially if they are at risk owing to family history or other factors such as ethnicity. Men over 50, black men and men with a family history of prostate cancer are at higher risk.

More than 52,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year and there are more than 12,000 deaths. A blood test that measures prostate-spe- cific antigen (PSA) is used as one of the first diagnostic tools for prostate cancer. However, previous research has suggested it is not reliable enough.

Prof Gnanapragasam said if more men take up tests “more tumours [could be] identified at an earlier stage and reduce the numbers of men experiencing late presentation with incurable disease”.

A NHS spokesman said record numbers of men have been getting checked for prostate cancer thanks to its awareness campaign.

Separately, researchers at University College London report that a new type of MRI scan, called Verdict, could help doctors rule out prostate cancer more accurately, reducing tens of thousands unnecessary biopsies every year.

‘We need to emphasise that prostate cancer can be a silent or asymptomatic disease’