Europa Uomo’s André Deschamps says building awareness is a priority

Should male populations be be screened to detect prostate cancer? Doing nothing is not an option, said Europa Uomo’s André Deschamps at an online webinar discussing the implications of the European Commission’s updated recommendation for prostate cancer screening.

“No man should die due to poor access to screening for prostate cancer,” he said. “We have the knowledge to act today.”

The need to organise structured early detection programmes is urgent, he said, because random and opportunistic screening ran the risk of overdiagnosis and overtreatment. The solution, he said, is smart screening – using established risk calculators to target groups of well-informed men.

“But building awareness of prostate cancer and breaking the taboos surrounding the disease will be key,” he said.

André Deschamps was speaking at a webinar on “Shared learnings and best practices in cancer screening and diagnosis” organised by Astellas Pharma Europe as part of its Let’s Talk Prostate Cancer campaign.