Prostate cancer screening relaxed since 2004, which led to an increase in mortality.
The cases of prostate cancer are on the rise in the country, as their number is increased by 72% in the last decade.
The most affected people were men between the ages of 55 and 69, in whose case the cancer incidence almost doubled in the past ten years.
One reason for the spike could be the fact that prostate cancer became more aggressive now than in 2004. Another disease-related explanation could be that the late-stage diagnosis gained in precision.
However, medical experts are worried that the men benefit more from early screening. However, the increase in cancer numbers shows that they are not interested enough to do a medical check-up. When compared with what happened a decade ago, the screenings have decreased in numbers.
The test involves a blood analysis that looks for a prostate-specific antigen (PSA). If the illness is discovered, a planned treatment can completely eradicate the disease before it starts to spread.
„Although the social and biologic factors underlying these PSA escapes and rising metastatic prostate cancer cases are unknown, the implications of these recent trends highlight the continued need for nationwide refinements in prostate cancer screening and treatment to prevent the morbidity and mortality associated with metastatic prostate cancer,” said the authors of the study.
The survey that offered these statistics gathered data from 800,000 men and compared the antigen’s levels from 2013 and 2004 based on the case studies stored by the National Center Data Base.
The data coming from the more recent years showed that the disease was detected very late. The incidence of metastatic prostate cancer rose 72% during the decade, with 1,685 cases in 2004 and 2,890 cases in 2013.
The level of the prostate-specific antigen was almost double than in the ten years earlier, which means that the medical interventions were much more complicated, and the prevention treatment could be applied because the disease was already advanced.
The authors of the study state that avoiding screening can reduce the possibility to early detection of cancer, which in turn brings on higher mortality rates.
Doctors agree that the prostate cancer screening should start in the mid-thirties and should be continued every five years.
As the disease can be influenced by lifestyle, a doctor can decide whether a person needs the screening more often than in five years time.
Just like any other type of cancer, the disease is treatable if it is detected in the early stages.
During the last ten years, the screening practices have been changed multiple times due to the 2008 and 2012 recommendations issued by the US Preventive Services Task Force.
The authors of the study want to stress the fact that the relaxed screening recommendations had led to an increase in prostate cancer cases that are discovered only in the metastatic stage when it’s often much too late to help the patient.
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