Motorsport Australia has partnered with the Artificial Intelligence (Al) diagnostics company, Maxwell Plus to help its members take action during prostate cancer awareness month.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in Australian men, nearly one in six men will be diagnosed with the disease by the age of 85. Yet many of the 5 million men at risk are not taking proper action.

Maxwell Plus is an Al based diagnostic platform for prostate cancer focused on making sure men can get tested easily and properly. Their results have shown that they are able to detect 40% more prostate cancers with 50 per cent fewer invasive, unnecessary biopsies.

''This is an important area for Motorsport Australia, given many of our members and employees are in the risk category,” Motorsport Australia CEO Eugene Arocca said.

“While this is a disease that directly affects men, we know that there are many of our female members who this campaign will apply to, given they will have fathers, brothers, friends or other relatives who might be at risk.

“We are excited to be able to help our members take control of their health, during a difficult time and hopefully help save lives.”



Legends of the sport are also supporting the cause. Mark Webber, Australian Formula 1 Legend and World Endurance Championship winner, has used the service and was impressed by how easy it was and how detailed the report was. 

“It was simple, quick and painless. All I needed was the blood test and now I have complete peace of mind,” Webber said.

Webber has also appeared in a special video interview on Motorsport Australia’s channels, joining Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships presenter Greg Rust to discuss the importance of the partnership.
 


Maxwell Plus can be accessed online – there participants can determine if they are eligible for testing. They are then connected with a Maxwell Plus doctor who organises a local test.

“The Al analyses existing patients' PSA tests, MRls and clinical parameters searching for complex trends that humans may not be able to see and compares each man's results to a database of over 250,000 prostate cancer cases,” Maxwell Plus Co-Founder Dr Elliot Smith said.

“The information is presented to expert clinicians who confirm the results and report these findings to the patient.

“We look forward to working with Motorsport Australia and are excited to help their members take control of their health.”

Dr Peter Swindle, a urologist of more than 20 years and Professor Tony Costello, the pioneer of robotic surgery in Australia, are medical advisors for the company and have helped to develop the technology.

“Our service is finding prostate cancer in men five years younger, at lower PSAs and with fewer unnecessary biopsies. Nearly 40 per cent of the men we have diagnosed with prostate cancer would have been completely missed by the current guidelines,” Dr Swindle, Chief Medical Officer of Maxwell Plus said.

Together with Maxwell Plus, Motorsport Australia will subsidise the costs of Motorsport Australia members' test with Maxwell Plus, meaning they or their direct families can take part in the non-invasive test which could save a life.

Click here to access the Motorsport Australia Offer.
 
Interesting stats about Maxwell Plus and prostate cancer:

• More than 3,000 men die each year from prostate cancer, 5 million men are at risk, and one in six men will be diagnosed with the disease by the age of 85. If caught early the survival rate is 98 per cent.

• In Australia the median PSA at diagnosis is currently 7.3, and median age is 68. (Source: PCOR 2020)


Maxwell Plus' Annual Report

• Maxwell Plus detected 33 cases with a median PSA 65 per cent lower at diagnosis of 2.8, and a median age seven years younger at 61. 

• 38 per cent of these cases would have been completely missed by the current guidelines which recommend a cut-off PSA of 3 for most men and 2 for those with family history.

• Maxwell Plus has an unnecessary biopsy rate (biopsying men with low grade or no cancer) 56 per cent lower than Australia and American average.

• In Australia, around seven per cent of men present to urologists with metastatic disease, all Maxwell Plus diagnoses have occurred before metastasis whilst the cancer is localised and easily treatable.