PRAISE-U and Prostate Cancer Awareness

The ‘PRostate cancer Awareness and Initiative in the EU’ (PRAISE-U) consortium, led by the European Association of Urology (EAU), is dedicated to reducing morbidity and mortality caused by prostate cancer in the EU. This project aims to provide concrete evidence on a risk-stratified approach to the early detection of prostate cancer. The consortium is made up of 14 countries and 26 Institutions. Ireland is one of 5 countries selected as a pilot site. Ireland is the only site evaluating the feasibility of a home based Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test within a digital framework.

The Project

The aim of the project is to design, implement and evaluate a prostate cancer screening programme that accurately identifies men who will benefit from treatment, while avoiding unnecessary diagnosis and medical interventions for those who will not. The project is using different screening methods targeted at finding men with the specific higher risk of developing a potentially harmful form of prostate cancer. It is important to detect and treat cancer early before symptoms develop. All population screening programmes have both benefits and harms. For prostate cancer, experts have looked at the benefits versus the harms of screening. Their suggestion now is for countries in the EU to do more research to determine whether a screening programme should be established in each country. PRAISE-U will provide very important information for such a decision. There can be emotional challenges for men on cancer screening, which may influence the men in such a way that they will not participate in the screening process. Therefore, it is important to explore the psychosocial impact screening and to address the impact it has on men’s mental health.

Project Steering Group

In Ireland, the invitation from the European Urology Association was received by the Irish Society of Urology, and the national stakeholders were convened to form a project steering group. This included the National Cancer Control program (NCC), the National Screening service (NSS) and the Health Service Executive (HSE). Building on the successful Rapid Access Clinic model established in Ireland in 2010, we planned a regional model screening men at population level, with the National screening service inviting men to participate in a screening project based in University College Dublin.

The Model

To evaluate the model, a random sample of men aged 50 to 69 years from Dublin and Waterford have been selected from a national registry. Up to 10000 men will be invited to participate over a 12-month period. To assess the model in different populations across Ireland, we are studying both urban and rural populations, both high and low socio-economic groups. The men will represent a diverse population, with the Mater Hospital catchment covering inner-city Dublin, St Vincent’s Hospital catchment covering more affluent areas of south Dublin, and University Hospital Waterford covering a rural catchment population.

The Digital and IT Framework

The digital and IT framework we designed ensures the cohesive collection and secure handling of highly sensitive data. The website, www.prostatecheck.ie, was created to facilitate seamless connectivity between the study team, participants, the laboratory, and the Rapid Access Prostate Clinic (RAPC) clinical team. It provides men with the opportunity to give consent, request a kit, and complete the PSA test from the comfort of their home. We developed a tailored project in the REDCap database integrated with the website, allowing participants to securely submit their data through a protected link. Using the website’s medical portal, the clinical team will use the participant’s unique study ID to perform risk stratification.

The Campaign

To boost response rates, the global charity Movember will promote the pilot through a mix of social and traditional media platforms. The campaign will be selectively launched and paused in the catchment areas, intentionally introducing a regional bias to evaluate its effect on recruitment rates. If successful, the current model can be scaled up to a national screening model for prostate and other cancers if required.

The study went live in March 2025 with an end date of March 2026.