By 2040 i annual cases of prostate cancer in the world they will double, passing from the current ones 1.4 million to 2.9 million. At the same time, they will grow85% the deaths you cause 375 thousand today will reach 400 thousand. These are the data that emerge from a report published in the magazine ‘The Lancet‘, which underlines the need “to develop strategies to manage this phenomenon” and provides recommendations to mitigate the impact of the malignancy.
Prostate cancer represents the 15% of cancer diagnoses and it is the most common neoplasm in males in over one hundred countries around the world. “The burden of disease globally is already considerable,” explains the ‘Lancet Commission on prostate cancer‘, but it is intended to increase further. “Increasing life expectancy in low- and middle-income countries will drive large increases in prostate cancer, and cases are expected to increase in high-income countries as well,” he adds.
Prevention with early diagnosis
What is especially worrying is the late diagnosis, which “is widespread throughout the world, but especially in low- and middle-income countries it is the norm.” There is no shortage of tools for early diagnosis, however they are not widespread in low-income countries, while in rich ones they risk being used inappropriately: “Prostate cancer screening with the PSA test may lead to excessive testing and unnecessary treatment in older men and insufficient testing in younger, but high-risk men,” the report explains.
“We know that this increase in cases is comingso we must start planning and acting now”, says the first signatory of the report in a note, Nicholas James. “Evidence-based interventions, such as improved early diagnosis and educational programs, will contribute to save human lives it’s at prevent diseases due to prostate cancer in the years to come.”
April 5, 2024
