Two in every five men examined as part of a rapid-access prostate cancer service were diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2013.
Last year, 2,583 men were referred to the service by their GP with suspected prostate cancer, 1,050 (41 per cent) of whom were subsequently diagnosed with the disease.
The incoming interim director of the National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP), Dr Jerome Coffey, said the number of men attending the clinics was expected to increase significantly in 2014, with the completion earlier this year of the rollout of the service to eight centres nationwide.
Dr Coffey said the service’s aim was to ensure that patients were diagnosed in a short timeframe and received uniform access to services.
“Once a GP has a suspicion that a patient has prostate cancer, the patient can be seen rapidly and have a further examination where required, generally a biopsy. If diagnosed they are then offered the appropriate treatment in a timely manner,” he said.
The service was discussed yesterday as part of the NCCP’s third Prostate Cancer Quality and Audit Forum, which saw leading prostate cancer experts from around the country gather in Dublin.
Rapid diagnosis
David Galvin, national prostate cancer clinical lead and consultant urologist with the Mater hospital, said it was extremely important for patients to receive a rapid diagnosis.
“Irish men who develop prostate cancer have one of the highest death rates from the disease in Europe. The rapid-access clinics are ensuring many of these men are having their cancer diagnosed and treated earlier, which should lead to better outcomes in terms of both survival and quality of life,” he said.
Outgoing NCCP director Dr Susan O’Reilly said the system aimed to ensure that men were provided with a diagnosis within a three- to four-week timeframe.
“For the majority of men who do not have cancer, that timeframe reduces the anxiety that longer waiting involves. And for those men who are diagnosed, their treatment options are discussed and considered by an expert multidisciplinary team,” she said.
Some 3,200 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in Ireland each year, a number which is expected to increase in the coming decades as the population ages.