UNSW Pancreatic Screening Often men with a family history of prostate cancer face a dilemma whether to go through a much objected screening or no. The new discovery may offer some relief for such individuals. Scientists from the University of New South Wales, Sydney Australia claim to introduce a novel web-based tool to aid such men in making their screening decisions. It has been suggested that by employing this online resource people can seek answers to their queries.

During all the early trails, researchers registered positive results from men seeking help from this tool. They were apparently able to make accurate decisions regarding their screening decisions. The screening executed in Australia is provided in the form of a serum Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) and is frequently combined with a digital rectal examination.

Associate Professor Bettina Meiser, from UNSW’s Prince of Wales Clinical School and co-author of the research elucidated, “Research suggests that men with a family history of prostate cancer have a significant unmet need when it comes to information and strong desire for more information about their personal risk and treatment options.”

The experts mentioned that screening continues to remain a questionable issue and men may face difficulty in making a decision. Although subjecting oneself to daily testing is beneficial for early diagnosis, screening seems to be linked with an elevated risk of false positive results and needless treatment. Participants found the tool to be easily accessible. From a total of ten volunteers, seven favored web for getting themselves updated on prostate cancer screening information.

Dr Claire Wakefield, from UNSW’s School of Women’s and Children’s Health, and co-author of the research added, “In light of the trade-off between potential benefits and harms, it is all the more important that men make their decisions based on all the information available. Using our tool, men can better understand the chances of being diagnosed with, and dying from, prostate cancer over the next 10 years if they choose to have an annual PSA test, compared to no screening.”

It was mentioned that the tool is not designed for a one-on-one discussion and will be provided by means of high-quality Australian cancer-related websites like the Cancer Council. The scientists anticipate the discovered tool to be beneficial for general counseling. The ongoing larger trial encompasses men aged between 40 and 79 years with no history of prostate cancer but do have a family member with the disease.

The research is published in the July month of the journal Patient Education and Counselling.