Should Young Men Be Screened for Prostate Cancer?
There are more than 55,000 new prostate cancer diagnoses every year, a number which is massively on the rise. Since the mid-80s, rates increased by 53% in the UK, according to Cancer Research UK. Cancer experts have also predicted that the number of new cases will rise by 107% from 2020-2040.
Now, a charity is calling for men with a high risk of developing prostate cancer to be screened when they hit 45.
Conversations about the disease have hit the headlines after the shocking news that Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy has terminal prostate cancer. Since revealing his diagnosis, his calls for more young men to be tested for the disease has led to a government review into prostate cancer screening.
Currently, there is no screening programme in the UK due to conflicting evidence about how accurate current tests are. It means men must be aware of the signs of prostate cancer and go to the doctor to report any concerns. Other cancers do have screenings, such as bowel cancer and breast cancer, and smear tests have prevented 70% of cervical cancer deaths in England.
Now, Prostate Cancer Research says that better tests – and more awareness about the disease – are needed to save men's lives. Oliver Kemp, head of the charity, recently told the BBC's Today Programme: 'Not everyone is even aware that they have a prostate, never mind that they are at higher risk. Not as many people are turning up to their doctors as they should be.'
Prostate Screening: Pros and Cons
One concern about introducing prostate screening with inaccurate tests is the potential over-diagnosis of tumours that don’t impact men’s lives and lifespan.
Prostate cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in men in the UK, following lung cancer. It accounts for 14% of all male cancer deaths and 7% of all cancer deaths. However, around 75% of prostate cancer cases are classified as "low-risk" or "localised," meaning the cancer grows slowly and is unlikely to spread or cause symptoms quickly.
The government even claims that a downside of early, imperfect testing is that, 'You might be diagnosed with a slow-growing cancer that would never have caused any problems or shortened your life. Being diagnosed with cancer could make you worry, and you might decide to have treatment you do not need.'
Prostate cancer testing begins with a blood test that can identify the prostate specific antigen (PSA). However, the test can miss some cancers and PSA levels can also be raised for reasons other than cancer, such as UTIs, recent exercise and recent ejaculation.
Prostate Cancer UK is also calling for change, saying that NHS testing is failing men. Its campaign, Faster, Fairer, Better, is calling for:
An increase in MRI capacity and improve the quality of scans so that prostate cancer can be accurately diagnosed more quickly.
Changing guidelines so that GPs can talk proactively to men at highest risk and give everyone a fair chance of a diagnosis that comes in time for a cure, rather than waiting for patients to alert doctors about symptoms.
More support for ground-breaking research to save the lives of thousands of men every year.
Prostate Cancer Symptoms
In the meantime, being aware of the signs of prostate cancer can help you take charge of your health. According to the NHS, symptoms of prostate cancer include:
needing to pee more frequently, often during the night
needing to rush to the toilet
difficulty in starting to pee (hesitancy)
straining or taking a long time while peeing
weak flow
feeling that your bladder has not emptied fully
blood in urine or blood in semen
In the UK, most prostate cancers are diagnosed in men aged 75–79, but rates rise steeply from 45–49. Black men are also more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than white men and you are more at risk if you have a family history of the disease.
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