New Draft PSA Testing Guidelines released for public comment

[Geoff Buttfield]

While the draft Testing guidelines may seem a step in the right direction, unfortunately, an important item in the 2013 Melbourne Consensus  http://www.bjuinternational.com/bjui-blog/the-melbourne-consensus-statement-on-prostate-cancer-testing/  Consensus Statement 4: Baseline PSA testing for men in their 40s is useful for predicting the future risk of prostate cancer has not been included. This would have been the only way to stop younger men from being found too late. As it stands, GPs are advised to refuse testing to anyone under 45, and not to suggest testing before 50, an age which is too late for some (including me)

The Draft Guidelines can be found here-

                              http://wiki.cancer.org.au/australia/Guidelines:PSA_Testing

 

I can only agree with this statement in the conclusion of the 2013 statement- As Dr Joseph Smith editorialized in the Journal of Urology following the publication of the ERSPC and PLCO trials, “treatment or non-treatment decisions can be made once a cancer is found, but not knowing about it in the first place surely burns bridges” 

[Paul Edwards]

Geoff, the Draft Guidelines are open for public comment until 16 January 2015.

 

Comments by members of the public can be made directly on the Cancer Council Australia Cancer Guidelines Wiki.

 

As well as posting in this forum, I would urge you to make a comment via the public consultation process.

[Geoff Buttfield]

C'mon Guys

What are your thoughts, what legacy are you leaving for your grandchildren? Should testing occur early? or do the consequences mean it's better to wait?

The whole thrust of this document is to prevent 'Overdiagnosis' not 'Overtreatment' and I personally (I am not a Doctor) think that this is wrong. I personally believe that sacrificing the 'young ones' (<50) for the benefit of overall public health (and, I am not an Epidemiologist, obviously) is not a legacy I wish to leave behind. As stated above, comment closes on 16 January (It's Christmas, press have gone to sleep, support groups not meeting) but we are in a unique position, as advanced men with (I would like to think) knowledge and opinions that may matter.

I do note that while the draft statement contains reference to Endorectal MRI's, it contains no reference to the now widely available Gallium⁶⁸ PSMA Scan.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?         Please Post.

As these guidelines will become a permanent item on the Cancer Councils Advisory page, this is probably our last chance to have some input as 'consumers'.

G. 

[Paul Edwards]

We are starting to see more young men diagnosed with prostate cancer.  This is why PCFA is starting to form a number of Younger Men's Prostate Support Groups.  Unfortunately the men who get prostate cancer at any early age often have very aggressive disease. I agree with your comments that Statement 4 of the Melbourne Consensus regarding younger men should be included in the Guidelines.

 

When I was diagnosed, my cancer had already metastasised.  Had I had more regular PSA tests, my disease would have been detected at an earlier stage and could have been treated. My view is that men over 50 should be tested annually as part of their annual medical check up.