EU-wide initiative to encourage Europe-wide screening has Europa Uomo backing

More than 50 members of the PRAISE-U project have participated in a kick-off event for this new pan-European prostate cancer screening initiative in Brussels. The programme aims to design a nationally-tailored and cost-effective early detection algorithm for prostate cancer screening across the EU.

Among those celebrating its launch was Europa Uomo. Guenther Carl-Ernst, Europa Uomo Chairman, said: “We are delighted to support the implementation of PRAISE-U and we are so glad prostate cancer is finally getting the attention it deserves as the EU’s most common male cancer. For us, every man whose cancer is detected too late is one man too many.”

PRAISE-U is an ambitious three-year project involving 25 institutions from 12 countries, including Europa Uomo. In the light of the European Commission’s recent decision to encourage prostate cancer early detection throughout Europe, it will encourage the implementation of such programmes in Member States by aligning protocols and guidelines and collecting data.

Hein Van Poppel, Chair of the Policy Office at the European Association of Urology (pictured above with Monique Roobol from Erasmus Medical Centre), said: “Through this project, we want to provide clear guidelines and quality assurance tools that can be used by pilot sites to demonstrate that risk-based early detection approaches are effective, feasible, acceptable and cost effective.”

To achieve PRAISE-U’s goals, a multi-disciplinary consortium of leading clinicians and researchers in prostate cancer has been established. The consortium includes experts in prostate cancer and decision making, and a network of hospitals, medical societies, patient advocates and national authorities.