Predicting The Risk of Prostate Cancer in Asymptomatic Men

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Journey of a Cancer patient - Photo by: christine.gleason - Source: Flickr Creative Commons

It is no secret that cancer has a better chance of being treated if it is caught early. There have been several campaigns that have helped to raise awareness of cancers such as Breast Cancer and Skin Cancer, but other cancers have been slightly left behind. Many people still find it embarrassing to talk about having a smear test or a prostate examination, so if they suffer from any symptoms that can cause them to be unwell, they tend not to seek medical advice. This is definitely not recommended because it means if you have any sort of serious illness, including cancer, then your chances of getting early treatment are massively reduced. 

Predicting The Risk of Cancer

Of course, we all know that illnesses can happen without symptoms which can make cancer even harder to detect and treat. Predicting the risk of prostate cancer is something that many researchers have been looking into over the years. The hardest challenge is understanding if there is a way to detect whether someone is more likely to develop prostate cancer than someone else. We know that there are similar tests available, for example, to detect the genetic variations that predispose to breast cancer. These tests have significantly reduced the number of people who have gotten sick and increased those that can get early treatment.

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A Study

A recent study into the risk of developing prostate cancer started with the collection of routine data from several sources of QResearch English general practices. They used two separate practices so that results could be validated. They looked at data for 844,455 men aged between 25 and 84, looking for their levels of PSA (prostate-specific antigen) in those that were free of prostate cancer. After many tests, much research, and technical analysis it was determined that those with a higher level of PSA were more likely to develop prostate cancer in the future. You can see much of the technical data and statistics here. 

Prostate Cancer

It is estimated that 1 million men worldwide are affected by prostate cancer every year, with over 300,000 of those unable to be treated. With so many people affected, it makes sense that the medical professionals wants to know how this can be prevented and what they can do to help those that have developed it. Research on every single type of cancer continues daily and prostate cancer is certainly no exception.

There are ways that you can lower your PSA yourself – generally living a healthy lifestyle, plenty of exercise and taking vitamin d supplements are said to help. However, the best way to help yourself when it comes to any type of cancer is to seek help when you start to develop symptoms or feel unwell. Your doctor will have seen and heard everything, so there is no need to be embarrassed when seeking help for any medical ailment you have. PSA levels are certainly something that can be looked at, and predicting the risk of prostate cancer is undoubtedly a good thing, but seeking medical advice is the best way to ensure your health is as good as it can be.