Men ignoring colon cancer risks

Men are making a mistake if they do not undergo effective tests to screen for colon cancer while agreeing to have a less proven blood test for prostate cancer, researchers say.

A study of nearly 50,000 American men found 75 per cent of those aged 50 or older had undergone the prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, test for prostate cancer compared with 63 per cent who had undergone one of several colon cancer tests. Only 45 per cent reported their colon cancer tests were up to date.

Men and women should undergo regular colon cancer testing when they reach age 50, the report published in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association said.

Last year, 30,200 American men died from prostate cancer and 27,800 died from colon cancer, though colon cancer killed more younger victims.

Studies have shown colon cancer deaths can be reduced by up to a third by screening patients with the faecal occult blood test.

Other tests for colon cancer - such as a colonoscopy - can be un comfortable compared with a simple blood test, but are effective diagnostic tools, the report said.

"Testing for prostate cancer is easier, the PSA is a simple blood test, while testing for colon cancer is more involved. Second, there's been far more publicity for screening for prostate cancer than screening for colon cancer," said study author Brenda Sirovich of the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centre in White River Junction, Vermont.

"What we should tell patients is that colon cancer screening has been proven to reduce the risk of dying from the disease, while prostate cancer screening - we just simply don't know if the same thing is true."

- REUTERS