A row has broken out between doctors and the charity Prostate Cancer UK over its online cancer risk test.
Doctors say the test is causing concern among men, who then flood GP surgeries with unnecessary appointment requests.
The test, which asks questions about age, family history and race, tells any man over 50 that he is at “increased risk” for prostate cancer, regardless of other variables.
Prostate cancer primarily affects older men, but only one in 54 men aged 50 to 59 will be diagnosed. This rate rises to one in 19 for men aged 60 to 69, and to one in 11 for men over 70.
The cancer, which kills more than 10,000 men each year, is more common in black men and those with a family history of the disease.
A row has broken out between doctors and the charity Prostate Cancer UK (website pictured) over its online cancer risk test
Doctors say the test, which asks questions about age, family history and race, is worrying men, who then flood GP surgeries with unnecessary appointment requests (file image above)
Public health specialist Dr Ash Paul called the risk assessor, which is available on the Prostate Cancer UK website, “one of the biggest scams going on in the city right now”.
He added: “Over two million patients have already used the risk checker. Guess how many are now clogging up GP surgeries? In my opinion, it’s unethical and wrong.”
Prostate Cancer UK, one of the country’s largest cancer charities, claims its online test can tell men whether they are at risk of the disease “in 30 seconds” using “three quick questions”.
However, this newspaper has found that the test puts a 50-year-old white man with no close family history of the disease in the same risk category as a 74-year-old black man whose brother or father has had prostate cancer.
Both men would receive the same advice: go to their GP. The only difference is that the patient at higher risk would be “strongly advised” to seek help.
Amy Rylance, from Prostate Cancer UK, said its Risk Checker “offers people balanced information”, “supporting every man to make an informed decision about whether testing is right for him”.
‘The information a man will find on the Risk Checker reflects official Government and NHS guidance.’