A CHARITY has called for improvements in the provision of the latest scans for prostate cancer, claiming men are being "let down" with no access at all in almost a third of Scottish health boards.
Prostate Cancer UK found four NHS boards do not offer access to new "ground-breaking" diagnostic scans for the disease, which could boost detection and cut down on unnecessary biopsies.
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The remaining 10 do offer the multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) before biopsy, although not all are doing so to the "highest evidence based standards", and only two say they offer a scan to most men, the charity said.
The organisation is calling on the boards offering no access - Dumfries and Galloway, Forth Valley, Shetland and Tayside - to prioritise making the service available without delay.
It is also wants NHS Boards across the whole of Scotland to address the variation in the level and quality at which it is being offered.
It comes 18 months after the initial findings of the PROMIS clinical trial found that using mpMRI would allow large numbers of men to avoid a biopsy altogether by ruling out the disease without the need for the invasive procedure, which can be painful and sometimes lead to serious infections.
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Heather Blake of Prostate Cancer UK said: "We have seen some good progress in the adoption of pre-biopsy mpMRI over the last year.
"However, widespread variation in the level and quality of access continues to persist, with men in a third of NHS boards being let down with no access whatsoever.
"This groundbreaking diagnostic tool is the biggest leap forward in prostate cancer diagnosis for decades and it is therefore appalling that health officials in some areas are still not seeing this as a priority.
"We urge NHS boards in the worst offending areas to step up and focus their efforts on getting mpMRI before biopsy to men without delay. Every man with suspected prostate cancer deserves the chance of a more accurate diagnosis."
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NHS Highland is the only board to offer the scans to all eligible men.
David Douglas, prostate cancer clinical lead for the North of Scotland, said: "Working in an area that provides mpMRI scans before biopsy, I can see clearly the impact for men.
"Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in Scotland and the NHS needs to invest in game-changing diagnostic techniques, such as mpMRI, as well as the radiology staff who provide them, if we are to provide an equitable service for men with suspected prostate cancer."
Alex McCrindle, 56, from Minishant in Ayrshire, was diagnosed with prostate cancer by chance in 2012.
The former funeral director had injured his back lifting a coffin and was on painkillers for several months, before being referred to a urologist with suspected kidney stones.
After a biopsy indicated he had prostate cancer, Mr McCrindle was signed up to a London-led clinical trial investigating the effectiveness of mpMRI and a cutting edge therapy called high-intensity focalised ultrasound (HIFU).
The mpMRI scan revealed that 60 per cent of his prostate was covered with cancer.
He said: “The mpMRI was imperative. With the detailed images, the clinicians knew exactly what they were dealing with and were able to target my treatment accordingly.
"It wasn’t until I had the scan that we realised quite how significant my cancer was.”
Mr McCrindle subsequently underwent HIFU, which passes a probe into the prostate to effectively "burn off" the cancer without damaging nearby tissue and causing minimal side effects.
His PSA reading - the key marker for prostate cancer - fell from 7.9 to 0.04 and in December 2017 he was given the all clear.
He added: "The treatment I've had - even up here in Ayr - has been first-class. But I don't think anyone should have to go and look for it. It should be available for everybody."
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