SYDNEY—AFL identity Sam Newman has raised the ire of many over the years. Now, experts say, he has raised Australian men's acceptance of prostate cancer testing.
The number of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests conducted nationwide jumped to a record high in the months after Newman went public with his cancer diagnosis.
The former Geelong player had a similar impact on men as pop star Kylie Minogue had on women's screening for breast cancer in 2005, researchers say.
News of Newman's cancer broke in March last year, when he appeared on the Nine Network's 60 Minutes to urge men to "Be tested and enjoy life".
"Prostate cancer screening increased significantly in the quarter after media coverage of Newman's prostate cancer diagnosis," said University of Sydney Professor Simon Chapman and colleagues in a letter published in the Medical Journal of Australia.
"The seasonally adjusted age-standardised rate of PSA tests rose 17 per cent ... (representing) an additional 39,000 PSA tests during the second quarter of 2008."
Medicare data shows the number of routine PSA tests conducted in Australia is rising steadily, but there was an average of about 72,000 a month during the year before Newman's cancer became known.
The figure topped 107,000 in April 2008. In July, it was declining but nevertheless, was still more than 90,000.
Prof Chapman said it was not yet known whether the increase in testing had led to an increase in cancer diagnoses and, therefore, lives potentially saved.
"(But) Australian men's willingness to be screened for prostate cancer appears to have been boosted by this celebrity endorsement," he said.
The research also noted 2GB radio announcer Alan Jones went public with his prostate cancer diagnosis in July last year, though this had a lesser impact on already elevated levels of PSA testing.
"Screening seemed to have returned to the expected seasonal rate by the time of Jones' diagnosis," Prof Chapman said.
