Newsletters
2008 Summer Newsletter - 15.9 MB
2007 Winter Newsletter - 15.3 MB
2007 Fall Newsletter - 7.6 MB
2007 Summer Newsletter - 7.3 MB
2007 Spring Newlsetter - 1.6 MB
2006 Annual Report - 14.7 MB
2006 Winter Newsletter - 3.2 MB
News Release
Tom Kenny, Executive Director
For Immediate Release March 23, 2009
Phone: 403-212-8070
Public Warned Against Misinterpreting Flawed Research
CALGARY, AB - The Prostate Cancer Institute responded today to newly released European and American studies on the effectiveness of PSA screening. Dr. Bryan Donnelly, Chairman of The Prostate Cancer Institute, applauded the results of the European study, which found that PSA screening has reduced death rates by 20 percent, but condemned as "fundamentally flawed" the conclusions of the American research, which found no decrease in the death rate in men who have annual PSA tests. Dr. Donnelly said the way these studies have been reported is irresponsible.
"The European study clearly showed that PSA testing allows us to diagnose prostate cancer very early, when it is confined in the gland and can be treated," said Dr. Donelley. "To disregard these results is irresponsible," he warned.
Dr. Donnelly said that while the European study is exceptionally positive, reinforcing the message that the PSA saves lives, the American study is seriously flawed. Of the group that was meant to be the control arm (the untested group), at least half of the subjects had already been tested, leading to skewed results. Furthermore, the test only studied men up to ten years following the PSA test. It is not unusual for a majority of men to live with prostate cancer after ten years. Most die in the second decade. The European study is a much bigger study and the untested arm, were truly untested. That study, even with a ten-year control mark, indicated a twenty per cent reduction in mortality, a significant result.
Knowing that men will use any excuse not to have their health checked, Dr. Donnelley worried that the reporting on this issue will only feed into that excuse. Advanced prostate cancer is incurable and the third most common cause of death in North America, one that is miserable, painful, and slow.
"The PSA test is not perfect, but it's the best we've got. When I started in neurology thirty-six years ago, 90 per cent of the men I saw had advanced prostate cancer. Today 90 per cent have treatable cancer. The one and only difference is PSA blood testing," Dr. Donnelly said.
-30-
Dr. Bryan Donnelly is a staff Urologist at the Calgary Rockyview Hospital, and the Tom Baker Cancer Center. He is a Clinical Associate Professor in the University of Calgary. He is chairman of the Prostate Cancer Institute of Calgary, and a founding member of the Prostate Cancer Foundation. He currently holds the Seaman Chair for Clinical Research at the U of C.
The Prostate Cancer Institute aspires to excellence in prostate cancer education, awareness and research. We are a not-for-profit organization and for the last ten years we have provided current information, facilitated diagnosis and research and coordinated community and family support for men who may have prostate cancer and prostate-related disease. Annually, over 6000 men and their families visit the Prostate Cancer Institute to access medically sound information from a Resource Centre lending library, and to receive support from volunteers who have experienced prostate disease.
New clinic reduces wait times for prostate tests - 37 KB
Waiting times for test results to determine prostrate cancer have been cut to a fraction of the time due to a new referral process. Officials with the Calgary Health Region say it now takes two weeks to get results, as opposed to an average of three months.
Cuts to Wait Time - 39 KB
Doug Driediger unravels a stack of small square canvases, one for each day in November. For the past year, he's painted the view outside his front window, but that month's work stands out.