Press Releases
October 3, 2011
September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month
Early Screening is Key; Disease is Most Prevalent in African Americans
Prostate cancer is the number one form of cancer among men in the U.S., with 240,000 new cases diagnosed every year (according to the American Cancer Society). An estimated 11 percent of all men who have the disease will die from it, and it will affect one in six men (compared to one in eight women diagnosed with breast cancer) at some time in their life.
Many men with prostate cancer are most concerned about the possible effects of prostate cancer treatment – surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, hormone treatment, or some combination – which can result in impotence and/or incontinence.
As with most cancers, the earlier diagnosed the better. According to the American Urological Association, the survival rate is nearly 100 percent when prostate cancer is detected at an early stage when the tumor is still localized and has not spread. This is a key message that is being driven home in September during Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.
“For this reason, and because there are virtually no symptoms during the early stages, annual screenings are strongly recommended for Caucasian men beginning at age 50 and African American and Hispanic men beginning at 40, and earlier for those with family histories,” said Dr. Alexander Schwartz, a urologist at St. Barnabas Hospital. “While statistically prostate cancer is more common among men 65 and older, we are definitely seeing many men nowadays with prostate cancer in their 50s and even in their 40s, particularly among those at higher risk.”
A man with a father or brother who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer has more than twice the risk of being diagnosed. Rates of prostate cancer in the U.S. are 60 percent higher among African American men and their mortality rate is two-and-a-half times that of Caucasian men.
The screening for prostate cancer, said Dr. Schwartz, is simple and painless. It consists of a blood test called a PSA (which measures prostate-specific antigen, a protein produced by cells of the prostate gland) and a digital rectal exam. The PSA, which replaced an earlier test that was a less effective marker, has led to a 40 percent reduction in prostate cancer deaths since the mid-1990s.
According to Dr. Schwartz, prostate cancer or a benign condition (such as an enlarged prostate) can increase a man’s PSA level. A normal PSA reading, he said, can range from less than 2.5 for a man of 50 to 4.5 for a 70-year-old.
The PSA is done in collaboration with a digital rectal exam – which refers to the physician’s use of a finger (not a computer) in checking for bumps or abnormalities on the surface of the prostate that might indicate tumor growth. Both tests don’t show whether a patient has prostate cancer, but only whether further testing is required.
Should this be necessary, a biopsy will then be performed.
“This is really a very minor, fairly painless 10 to 15 minute procedure,” said Dr. Schwartz. “It sounds much worse than it is (where a needle is passed through the rectum into the prostate).”
A diet that is high in fat, meat and sugar and low in fruits, vegetables and fiber is considered a factor contributing to the disease. Studies have shown a strong relationship between consumption of saturated fat or dairy fat and prostate cancer, while polyunsaturated fats like Omega-3 fatty acids may help prevent the disease.
Exercise is associated with lower metabolism and weight loss, which can contribute to lowering the risk of prostate cancer. Studies to date, however, are inconclusive that exercise has a direct impact on prostate cancer risk. There are indications that smoking may contribute to the growth of prostate cancers.
Guidelines have historically recommended annual screenings for men up to the age of 75, as it was thought that older men should not be put through the rigors of treatment since they are more likely to die from something other than this slow progressing disease.
However, according to Dr. Schwartz, there is some new thinking on this.
“It depends on the 75-year-old,” he said. “Many older men are still active and healthy. Seventy-five is not as old as it once was.”