Doctors in the US have called for a rebrand of low-grade prostate cancer to remove the ‘C word’ — and spare men unnecessary alarm and treatment.  

They argue a name change would help more patients with a Gleason Score 6 (GS6) diagnosis avoid unnecessary surgery and radiation, have fewer treatment-related side effects and experience less stress.  

University of Chicago urologic oncologist Dr Scott Eggener and co-authors say that while such a name change — that is, rescinding the ‘cancer’ label — was first proposed a decade ago, it was a debate worth revisiting.  

“No matter how much time a physician may spend downplaying the significance of a GS6 diagnosis or emphasising the phrase low-risk, the words ‘you have cancer’ have a potent psychological effect on most men and their families,” they wrote in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.