---------------------- Forwarded by Dr S Walker/SHA on 10/10/2002 10:20 ---------------------------
From:   andy <[log in to unmask]> on 09/10/2002 15:56
To:     Dr S Walker/SHA@SHA
cc:      
Subject:        Prostate Cancer Risk Management Programme

Hi!

For information, here is the DoH press release from mid August relating to
the programme. By all means post on mailbase/acb website.

Best wishes

Andy Bufton
Director, External and Regulatory Affairs
Abbott Diagnostics

Public Health Minister, Yvette Cooper, has now announced the beginning of a
package of measures which will give men more information and choices than 
ever before on prostate cancer. The measures, which will roll out during
July, include:
1. The start of a six month consultation on new information leaflets for
PSA tests (an initial test which detects changes to the prostate gland).
The leaflets have been produced with GPs and patients so that men can make
their own decisions about whether or not to have the PSA test. They will be
available through the National Electronic Library for Health and GP
surgeries.
2. The launch of the DIPEx (Database of Individual Patients Experiences)
website - an interactive tool which will include video diaries of people's
experiences and decisions relating to prostate cancer and a CD Rom for use
in hospital outpatient departments, GP surgeries and for men to use at
home.
3. The launch of a £13 million trial into the effectiveness of current
treatments for prostate cancer. The trial, which will take place over the
next five to seven years, will give vital information about the three types
of treatment currently used for prostate cancer : active monitoring,
prostatectomy and radiotherapy. The trial will also provide information
about the reliability of the PSA test.
Yvette Cooper said:
"Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men, affecting an
estimated fifty per cent of all men by the time they reach 80, but it is a
cancer that we know too little about.
"In many men, prostate cancer never goes on to develop into a life
threatening disease and produces no symptoms. That is why we are committed
to funding new research and sharing new information so that men can make
their own decisions, rather than having decisions made for them about the
kind of tests and treatment available.
From this week, for the first time, men who ask their GP for a PSA test
should be able to get more information and access to the Informed Choice
leaflet so that they can read about the advantages and disadvantages of the
test, the implications of the results and further tests that are needed to
diagnose prostate cancer.
Men will be able to access a new website designed to allow people to share
experiences and decisions on prostate cancer. And, later this month, a
large scale trial will begin into all current forms of treatment for
prostate cancer

More information: 
1. Prostate cancer is now the second most common cancer in men in England
and Wales. There were 18,300 cases of prostate cancer in England and Wales
in 1997, and there were 8,500 deaths in England and Wales in 1999.
2. Leaflets providing information about prostate cancer tests have been put
together by GPs and patients, and will be available through the National
Electronic Library for Health website www.nelh.nhs.uk/psatesting/ and GP
surgeries over the next six months to assess the response of patients to
Informed Choice leaflets. The website will also contain a comment box for
feedback on the information available. All suggestions will be reviewed
before a final leaflet and information pack for GPs and patients is
produced towards the end of this year.
3. Jonathon Waxman, Chair of the Prostate Cancer Charity and Professor of
Oncology at Imperial College, said: "The Prostate Cancer Charity welcomes
the introduction of the Informed Choice policy and most of all the active
efforts of the Department of Health to engage with this difficult issue."
4. The £13 million prostate treatment trial will take place in nine centres
around the country over the next five to seven years. Approximately 230,000
men aged between 50-69 will be invited through their GP to have a prostate
check, including a PSA test. A pilot study indicates that about 2000 of
these will have early prostate cancer. If the men consent, they will be
randomly allocated to one of three treatment - active monitoring,
prostatectomy or radiotherapy. The trial will measure the effects of the
different treatments on:  survival,  progression of the cancer,  physical
and psychological health and quality of life.  It will also provide
reliable information about the reliability of the PSA test.  The trial will
be based in Universities of Bristol, Newcastle and Sheffield.
5. The DIPEx website, www.dipex.org, which is being launched on Thursday,
has been given £440,000 Government funding over the next three years and
will be linked to the National Electronic Library for Health. A CD-Rom of
video diaries will be available for men to access in hospital outpatient
departments, GP surgeries and for patients to use at home. Prostate cancer
is the first cancer to be covered by DIPEx - others to be covered are
breast, lung and ovarian.

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