Channel Islands likely to follow UK position on prostate cancer screening

Guernsey and Jersey Health Services will consider the results of a review of NHS prostate cancer testing guidelines to determine whether local services should be updated.

It follows calls from Olympian Sir Chris Hoy, 48, to test more young men. after he discovered he had advanced cancer that had spread to his bones and was incurable.

In a statement, Guernsey’s Public Health Authority said it would “carefully consider the findings of the NHS review and consider the applicability of this locally.”

Jersey’s Department of Health said any screening program introduced in the UK was “likely to be adopted” on the island.

There is currently no routine PSA screening program for prostate cancer in the UK, Guernsey and Jersey.

The NHS says this is because the results may be “unreliable”.

Owen Cole, consultant urologist at the Medical Specialist Group of Guernsey (MSG), said: “While we know that prostate cancer screening reduces mortality, there are also downsides to screening programs for any type of cancer.

“We’ll end up looking at a lot of people who don’t have prostate cancer and a lot of prostate cancer that doesn’t cause problems and might cause concern to patients.”

Mr Cole believes the best way is to offer screening to those who are more at risk of developing problematic prostate cancer.

He said: “There are studies currently underway that will confirm this (targeting at-risk groups). So I think at the moment there is a reluctance to roll out a screening program that covers the entire population, with strong evidence that it shouldn’t be done.”

Mr Cole said men with a family history of prostate or breast cancer, and men of African-Caribbean descent, were more likely to develop the disease at a younger age and suffer from more aggressive cancer.

Prostate cancer is one of the three most common cancers in Guernsey and Jersey, after non-melanoma skin cancer.

Jersey has the highest rate of prostate cancer diagnosis in the Channel Islands, and is also above the average for the South West and England as a whole.

This is according to Channel Islands Cancer Report 2020which shows that between 2012 and 2016 almost 275 men in every 100,000 were diagnosed with prostate cancer in Jersey.

Over the same period, there were 239.1 cases of prostate cancer per 100,000 people in Guernsey and 232.8 in England.

However, figures show that Guernsey has more people dying from the disease than anywhere else in the Channel Islands and England as a whole.

Jersey urologist Ben Hughes said the island would be following the ongoing UK review “with interest”.

He said: “Meanwhile, we know that prostate cancer mainly affects men over 50, and that a man’s risk increases with age. I would encourage all men between the ages of 50 and 80 to discuss having a PSA test with their GPs.

“If someone has a family history of prostate cancer or has a certain risk factor, they should consider getting a PSA blood test at age 45.”

In 2022, Deputy Rob Ward, Jersey’s Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning, was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

He said: “I still consider myself lucky because I was diagnosed early. If you are diagnosed early, you have treatment options.

He said: “I’m delighted to say I’ve been cancer-free for two years and I’ve never been more grateful to the health services for their help.

“Men need to get tested and not ignore their health conditions because there is life after cancer.”

Mr Ward said he had no symptoms of cancer at the time of the examination.