Doctors urge Austria to launch prostate cancer screening

Doctors are calling for Austria to introduce a national prostate cancer screening programme developed at Vienna General Hospital, ORF reports. The programme has support from the Austrian Medical Association and the Austrian Health Insurance Fund, but needs political approval before it can begin.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men. One in eight men will develop it during their lifetime, and about 1,400 die from the disease each year. Shahrokh Shariat, head of the urology university clinic at Vienna General Hospital, said the number of cases is rising. He warned that prostate cancer could account for half of cancers in men within the next decade, up from one in three now.

Early detection is important because the disease can be found before it causes symptoms. Men aged 50 and over can already receive a free PSA blood test as part of a general health check, but it is only offered when they visit a doctor on their own initiative or because they have symptoms.

The proposed programme would invite men to have a PSA test with a general practitioner, urologist or internist. If the result is elevated, a urologist would assess the risk and refer the patient for an MRI scan if needed. Men aged 50 to 70 would be tested once or at set intervals, depending on their individual risk. A rectal examination would not be part of the screening, Shariat said.

Naghme Kamaleyan-Schmied, vice-president of the Vienna Medical Association, said a structured programme could more than halve deaths from prostate cancer, reduce the burden on patients and ease pressure on the health system. The health insurance fund says the approach could also prevent unnecessary examinations and help target its resources.

The fund says key stakeholders have agreed on recommending the programme. National screening programmes must also be coordinated with the Health Ministry and the national screening committee. Shariat hopes the scheme could start around 2028.

Awareness campaigns such as Movember and Loose Tie promote men’s health and preventive checks in November. The Austrian Cancer Aid says about half of men have attended early detection screening at least once. The health insurance fund reported that participation in general check-ups rose from 13 per cent in 2017 to 18 per cent in 2025. Among men aged 50 to 70, it increased from 16.6 to 21.3 per cent.

The Vienna Medical Association is also calling for a broader men’s health package to be covered as part of the annual check-up, saying the current preventive examination should be updated to address health risks specific to men.