By Karin Yeske

Movember encourages prostate cancer test if advisable by doctor

Nov 1, 2014 | 12:38 PM

The Movember campaign continues to encourage men to discuss prostate-cancer screening with a doctor after a recent recommendation for physicians to stop using PSA tests.

“The stance that we have is that knowledge is power and until more precise tests are available, the recommendation would just be for men to discuss the situation with their doctor to decide if PSA testing is right for them. Together, the men and their physicians can choose the best course of action,” Adam Kletchko, chair for Movember Regina said.

The Canadian Task Force on Preventative Health Care released its updated guidelines Monday. It recommends that PSA tests not be used based on evidence that the harms of false positives, overdiagnosis and treatment are greater than early detection.

“Some people believe men should be screened for prostate cancer with the PSA test but the evidence indicates otherwise,” Dr. Neil Bell, member of the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care and chair of the prostate cancer guideline working group, said in a media release.

The federal panel found that between 11-19 per cent men screened using a PSA test will receive a false-positive diagnosis due to benign conditions. Between 40-56 per cent are affected by overdiagnosis which leads to an invasive treatment. Treatment can result in an infection, urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction.

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Critics of the recommendation told the Globe and Mail that early detection of prostate cancer saves lives. Doctors say the panel ignored the increasing trend for physicians to monitor tumours.

Clean-shave day begins Nov. 1 to kick off the start of the Movember campaign where men grow moustaches to raise awareness and money for prostate and testicular cancer.

According to Kletchko, there were 173,000 people in Canada that participated in the 2013 campaign, raising $33.9 million. To date, Canadians have raised $151 million for more than 200 men’s health programs.

“I think in Canada it is so successful because we just tend to not take ourselves so seriously. I know myself any excuse to grow a moustache and get away with it is appreciated,” Kletchko said.

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed non-skin cancer in men and third most common cause of death from cancer in men in Canada. However, the cancer is slow to develop and often non life-threatening, according to the Canadian Task Force on Preventative Health Care.

The national task for made the following key recommendations:

•             For men under age 55 and over age 70, the task force recommends not using the PSA test to screen for prostate cancer. This strong recommendation is based on the lack of clear evidence that screening with the PSA test reduces mortality and on the evidence of increased risk of harm.

•             For men aged 55–69 years, the task force also recommends not screening, although it recognizes that some men may place high value on the small potential reduction in the risk of death and suggests that physicians should discuss the benefits and harms with these patients.

•             These recommendations apply to men considered high risk — black men and those with a family history of prostate cancer — because the evidence does not indicate that the benefits and harms of screening are different for this group.

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