PRAISE-U is a pan-European prostate cancer screening initiative aiming to design a nationally-tailored and cost-effective early detection algorithm for prostate cancer across the EU. Since the kick-off in April, the consortium has been building the foundations of this three-year project, which require an influx of data and experiences from urological colleagues around the world.

The European Association of Urology has published a report of a meeting of its national societies, where progress and objectives were addressed. Read the report.

In collaboration with Professor Axel Merseburger, a urologist from Lübeck, Germany, and Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Europa Uomo has helped develop a leaflet  on “How biomarker testing can help to inform treatment decisions for your prostate cancer”. It contains information about the role of genes in cancer progression and how treatment decisions can be informed by genetic test results. It also explains the correlation between BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations and prostate cancer.

NASPCC (the National Alliance of State Prostate Cancer Coalitions) has published a new Prostatepedia issue on “New Directions in Advanced Prostate Cancer”. It provides an overview of new directions in advanced prostate cancer, with an eye toward future areas of research such as Bipolar androgen therapy (BAT), microsite instability and checkpoint inhibitors, DNA repair deficiency and PARP inhibition. Patients discuss their experiences with BAT and/or PARP Inhibitors.

Continence health problems are a major health issue impacting not only patients but their loved ones, national health systems, the economy, the environment, and society. Urology Week 2023 focuses on raising awareness of incontinence. More information here.

Wednesday September 27th, 2023 from 6 pm to 7 pm CET

Led by Cosimo Pieri (Italy) and Tania Estapé (Spain) – Board members Europa Uomo

Presentation by Tania Estapé, clinical Psychologist and PhD in Psychology, Board member of Europa Uomo and Psycho-oncology Coordinator in FEFOC (Barcelona, Spain).

More information here.

The venue for the first Europa Uomo Summer School in 2024 will be Hotel Nhow Brussels Bloom, Rue Royale – Koningsstraat 250, 1210 Brussels, Belgium. Participants will also be accommodated in the hotel.

The Summer School will start with arrival on Sunday, 1st September and end on Friday, September 6th, 2024.

More information will follow.

Despite growing awareness of the importance of shared decision making in cancer, there is plenty of evidence that it is still not being implemented as it should be.

• 3 in 4 cancer patients want treatment decisions to be made jointly, but 1 in 3 feel they are not sufficiently involved.
• 1 in 3 prostate cancer patients feel that their doctors do not sufficiently help them weigh treatment decisions after diagnosis.
• 16% of prostate cancer patients undergoing surgery and 11% of those undergoing radiotherapy express treatment-related regret at five years.
• Depression, anxiety, fear and educational, cultural and linguistic barriers get in the way of understanding information and being able to successfully engage in decision-making.
• Practical constraints such as lack of time, staffing and facilities in the hospitals make shared decision making very difficult.

Read the full article in CancerWorld.

Nick Owen is one of several male celebrities in the UK who have talked about their prostate cancer diagnosis and encouraged men to get tested while they better also point to the need for screening.

Read Nick’s story here.