A screening programme for prostate cancer in Ireland would save the lives of thousands of men, according to the medical director of St Luke's Hospital, Dublin. Dr John Armstrong described the disease as the "Cinderella" cancer.
The Irish mortality rate from prostate cancer is 50 per cent, Dr Armstrong said, compared to 30 per cent in the US, where a screening programme is in operation.
"Prostate cancer is dreadfully neglected politically in this country. Irish men are really getting short-changed because they are not getting offered all the choices of screening. This type of cancer does not get any attention."
Dr Armstrong was speaking following the publication of a Canadian study which showed an almost threefold advantage in favour of screening and early treatment.
The study showed the annual death rate from prostate cancer was 48.9 per 100,000 of population for the unscreened group, compared to only 18.1 in the screened group.
It also showed that where no screening was carried out there were many deaths in men under the age of 65, but none in that age group where the men were screened for the disease.
This type of cancer may be detected through a physical examination, together with a blood test. Dr Armstrong said the two together were the most effective for proper screening, even though men generally were reluctant to undergo the rectal examination.
There are 1,000 cases of prostate cancer diagnosed in Irish men each year. "Five hundred of these are dying. But the others are being caught in time and being treated."
Those Irish men going forward for screening at the moment are doing it on their own initiative, although some are simply getting the blood test done and not the physical examination, he said.
"If we had a system in place where these people who are being screened were taking part in a voluntary trial we could accurately collate information for prostate screening."
Dr Armstrong said he believed further studies, such as the one carried out in Canada, would further prove the effectiveness of screening. A pilot study should be established now in Ireland to indicate what the pick-up rates were for the disease here, compared to other countries.
He said thousands of lives could be lost over the next decade if screening was not introduced immediately. "When the time comes we will not have any experience of running a screening programme in Ireland. We will be forced to wait another 10 years, and that is another 1,000 men being diagnosed with prostate cancer each year."
The disease usually affects men in their 50s. The symptoms include disturbance in urinary flow in the early stages, and pain in the lower back and pelvis in later stages.
Dr Armstrong said St Luke's Hospital should have a major role in the screening programme. "We would love to be involved with other hospitals in this. Hospitals involved in treatment should also be involved in screening."