How our screening works and how we test

How we test for diseases

• Prostate Cancer Screening icon plus

  The lives of almost all the 10,000 men who die of prostate cancer each year in the UK could potentially be saved if they were diagnosed and treated early enough; but screening is controversial. Prostate cancer detection begins with a PSA blood test. High PSA levels raise suspicions of cancer, but cannot provide a reliable diagnosis because PSA alone may give a false positive or false negative result. So further investigation is necessary.
  
  This is traditionally done by taking tiny samples of prostate tissue (biopsies), usually via a needle through the rectum. The procedure is uncomfortable and carries a risk of serious infection and other complications.
  
  

  The Advanced Screening Centre difference: Multiparametric 3T MRI

  New, high-definition MRI technology provides far superior images of the prostate, enabling the radiologist to identify the presence and location of a prostate tumour.
  
  This means we can use it (with PSA) either as a screening tool for those at risk, or before proceeding to biopsy if PSA levels are raised. Men whose MRI is clear may avoid unnecessary biopsies and simply continue with regular PSA monitoring.
  
  

  What happens if we detect signs of prostate cancer?

  
  The issues are complex and you must seek expert advice. As a client of The Advanced Screening Centre you have access to the UK’s leading specialists for an explanation of your options or referral elsewhere, as you wish.

• Pelvic Cancer Screening icon plus

  Pelvic cancers are the third most common form of malignancy for women in the UK: they include endometrial, ovarian and cervical cancers. Tumours in the pelvis can reach a large size before they cause symptoms or are detected. Endometrial cancer (cancer of the uterus, or womb) is on the rise. Often the first sign is abnormal bleeding, but earlier diagnosis can be made by scanning.
  
  Ovarian cancer has often spread by the time it is diagnosed. There are many women for whom an earlier scan in response to minor common symptoms could have caught their cancer at a less advanced stage.
  
  Cervical smear tests, combined with HPV (human papillomavirus) testing, can be organised.
  

  The Advanced Screening Centre difference: Multiparametric 3T MRI

  This sophisticated MRI imaging can detect a pelvic mass earlier. It is available in just a few centres in the UK. However, our clients can benefit from this non-invasive technology which we know can detect ovarian and endometrial cancers at a stage where they can be effectively treated.
  

  What happens if we detect pelvic cancer symptoms?

  We would emphasise that many abnormalities detected through scans do not need to be treated. Our Clinical Board experts will evaluate all the factors and make the clinical decision, then make sure you are referred promptly to a top consultant if required, or liaise personally with your GP.

• Lung Cancer Screening icon plus

  Lung cancer has one of the lowest survival rates of any cancer. It is especially lethal because it grows fast and spreads readily. There is only a small window of opportunity for cure, so early detection is crucial.

  There is no screening programme for lung cancer in the UK. But around 120 people are diagnosed with the disease every day, usually by chest X-ray used to investigate symptoms. For two-thirds of these people, it will be too late for curative treatment.

  The Advanced Screening Centre difference: CT SCAN

  Smokers and other individuals with increased risk factors will be offered a low-radiation dose CT scan of the chest. The radiation dose is minimal; the images are more accurate and catch more early cancers than chest X-ray.
  
  Chest imaging can easily be added to CT colonography (when undergoing bowel screening) if required, for those at risk or concerned about lung cancer.

  What happens if we detect lung cancer symptoms?

  Lumps and abnormalities detected within the lung require careful evaluation. The majority of such abnormalities are not cancerous; but it can be alarming to be told that your scan is not perfectly clear. So at this point our Clinical Board expert will step in, either to help guide you towards further investigations if appropriate, or reassure you that there is nothing to worry about.

• Cardiovascular disease icon plus

  Heart attack and stroke remain the biggest threats to health. The key is to establish your “lifetime risk”, based on your test results profile, and to reduce that risk through lifestyle changes and drug treatments where necessary.
  Conventional methods of screening for cardiovascular disease include blood tests, blood pressure measurement, ECG and exercise testing, sometimes with a CT scan to assess the state of your arteries.

  The Advanced Screening Centre difference: Lifetime Risk Evaluation

  The Advanced Screening Centre uses an innovative risk calculator, based on the latest UK guidelines, to evaluate your “heart age” and risk of future heart attack and stroke. More detailed assessment of your heart and arteries may be recommended using ultrasound, CT or MRI. We carry out:
  
  CT Coronary Calcium Score

  •  Low-level X-ray is used to detect and measure calcified plaque in the walls of the arteries. A calcium score is then calculated to indicate the extent of any disease.

  Cardiac MRI

  • Using no radiation, cardiac MRI detects structural problems, measures blood flow and assesses the function of the heart.

  What happens at the end of your assessment?

  We will help you “invest in your arteries” by developing a personalised programme for delaying or preventing future heart attack or stroke. If significant problems are detected, our Clinical Board experts are on hand to guide your further specialist treatment.

• Breast Cancer Screening icon plus

  NHS statistics suggest that women are better than men at attending screening services and there is a successful NHS breast screening programme. And yet, over 1,000 women in Britain still die each month from the disease.
  
  Mammography (using X-ray) is widely considered to be the best single screening test for abnormalities such as breast lumps, which may then require further investigation to see if they are cancerous.
  
  In the USA, annual breast screening is recommended from age 40. But in the UK, the NHS screens women only every three years from age 47-50. Superior breast cancer survival in the USA justifies their policy.
  

  The Advanced Screening Centre difference: Pioneering Imaging Techniques

  Recent huge advances in technology mean that we are able to offer a greatly enhanced service – the first of its kind. You will receive:
  
  • Full field digital/3D mammography: simply the best quality images, with 3D increasing accuracy by 40 per cent.
  • Automated density readings: women with high-density breast tissue identified and offered additional ultrasound.
  • Automated whole breast ultrasound: ultrasound doubles the accuracy of detection in dense breast tissue. No age barrier (subject to assessment of risk factors and suitability).
  

  What happens if we detect breast cancer symptoms?

  Our service is led by one of the UK’s foremost breast radiologists, who will recommend the latest evidence-based care pathways and can refer you to a network of world-class breast cancer surgeons and oncologists.

• Bowel Cancer Screening icon plus

  The most easily treatable of all life-threatening cancers, yet also the second most common cause of cancer death in the UK, bowel cancer can be completely cured if detected early enough.
  
  The national screening programme for bowel cancer involves checking for traces of blood in a faecal (stool) sample, followed by colonoscopy (using a camera to inspect the entire large intestine) for those people testing positive.
  
  However, about half of such cancers do not bleed and will be missed by stool tests. Delays in detection may allow the disease to spread to other organs. Colonoscopy is a definitive large bowel test but it is relatively invasive and uncomfortable, often requiring sedation.

  The Advanced Screening Centre difference: CT Colonography

  Less invasive than colonoscopy, CTC uses low-dose CT scans to provide 3D images of the bowel to help detect polyps, the precursor of cancer. In expert hands it is safe and just as accurate, while avoiding the need for strong laxatives.

  What happens if we detect bowel cancer symptoms?

  If polyps are found, then it is often important to have them removed – which does involve a targeted colonoscopy, guided by information from the CTC. We can help with fast-track referral to an expert colonoscopist or bowel specialist, sometimes on the same day.