Prostate cancer deaths fall by a fifth in 20 years, says Cancer Research UK
Prostate cancer deaths fall by a fifth in 20 years, says Cancer Research UK
1/11/2013
Prostate cancer is second most common cause of cancer death among men, but progress has been made in treatment.
Death rates from prostate cancer have fallen by a fifth in the last two decades, according to Cancer Research UK.
Prostate cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death among men and the fourth overall. But, the charity says, considerable progress has been made in life-saving treatment.
Better treatment, more widespread use of hormone therapy, radical surgery and radiotherapy have all played a part in the drop in death rate.
In the early 1990s, there were around 30 deaths per 100,000 men in the population, but new figures from CRUK show that has dropped to around 24 per 100,000.
In actual numbers, deaths have gone up over that period, from 9,500 a year to 10,800 today. However, that is because men are generally living longer. Three-quarters of prostate cancer cases are diagnosed in men aged over 65.
Some cases that could have been fatal are diagnosed earlier through the use of the PSA test – but this is a blunt instrument which does not differentiate between those cancers that will kill and those that will do no harm in the man's lifetime.
Around 41,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year. CRUK says that while the drop in the death rate is good news, more progress is needed.
"This new report shows we've come a long way in improving the treatment of prostate cancer in the last couple of decades and improvements in how we treat prostate cancer have been key to reducing deaths from the disease. But a lot more work still needs to be done," said Professor Malcolm Mason of Cardiff University, CRUK's prostate cancer expert. "We still don't understand why some prostate cancers turn out be harmless – the grass snakes – while others are aggressive – the vipers – and resistant to treatment. Developing a test that distinguishes between these grass snakes and vipers in prostate cancer patients would help doctors understand which patients are most at risk."
Owen Sharp, chief executive of Prostate Cancer UK, said: "While on the surface death rates from prostate cancer are falling, this data shows that in real terms more men died of prostate cancer last year than they did 20 years ago.
"Although on average more men are surviving cancer for longer, 10,000 men still die each year of the disease – that's a shocking one man every hour.
"Men deserve much better. The raw truth is that there are simply too few options for men with advanced prostate cancer and even life-saving treatments for less aggressive cancers can have life-changing side-effects."
Martin Ledwick, Cancer Research UK's head information nurse, said: "The symptoms for prostate cancer are similar to a number of benign and harmless conditions but it's worth being aware of them and getting anything unusual checked out with your GP. Things such as having to rush to the toilet to pass urine and difficulty urinating should be checked out, especially if it's getting you up several times during the night.
"It's also worth remembering prostate cancer is more common in men over the age of 60, anyone who has had a relative diagnosed with the disease and men of African-Caribbean descent. If you're worried about prostate cancer or have any questions about this or other cancer-related issues, you can contact the nurse's helpline on freephone 0808 800 4040."
Source: The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/nov/01/prostate-cancer-deaths-fall-fifth-20-years-uk