Updates to clinical practice must be evidence based - RCGP responds to prostate cancer campaign

The College has responded to a new campaign by Prostate Cancer UK and the British Association of Urological Surgeons to move away from using digital rectal exams to help detect potential prostate cancer.

Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: “Rates of prostate cancer are incredibly concerning, so it’s absolutely vital that we are using the most up to date, evidence-based methods to detect and diagnose it as early as possible.

“As a College, we support evidence-based screening programmes that have been approved by the National Screening Committee, NICE or equivalent bodies in the devolved nations. Cancer screening programmes have potentially saved millions of lives, but screening does not come without risk, including the potential for overdiagnosis, so it’s vital that any screening programme is evidence based and reliable.

“At present, guidelines state that the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test alone is not reliable enough to detect prostate cancer that needs treatment as it has a false negative rate of about 15%, which means some cases can fall through the gaps.

“If a patient has a negative PSA test result but their GP is still concerned about their symptoms, then a digital rectal examination can help to identify potential prostate cancer. With the Transform Trial underway, it is sensible to wait for the evidence to become available before we change current clinical practice and move away from DRE altogether.”

Further information

RCGP press office: 0203 188 7659
press@rcgp.org.uk

Notes to editors

The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of more than 54,000 family doctors working to improve care for patients. We work to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice and act as the voice of GPs on education, training, research and clinical standards.