Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among Australians after non-melanoma skin cancer (1), with more than 15,000 new cases diagnosed each year. And it is the second most common cause of cancer death among Australian men, after lung cancer.
Tests aimed at helping diagnose prostate cancer are available. However, there is no national screening program in place as the benefits of population-wide screening for the disease are currently unproven. Whether or not to be tested for prostate cancer is a matter of individual choice.
Cancer Council’s Public Health Committee has developed a position statement which provides background information about the various tests available for prostate cancer, and explains why a national screening program is not currently recommended. There is a section on men at above-average risk of the disease. The statement makes recommendations around a patient-centred approach to individual decision-making about testing.
Cancer Council Australia encourages men to be fully informed before making their choice. Men who have a family history or are concerned about prostate cancer should see their doctor.
(1) Non-melanoma skin cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer according to surveys, however there is no reporting of actual cases to cancer registries.
This page was last updated October 2007
This position statement was last reviewed April 2008