June 11 marks World Prostate Cancer Day , the most common malignant tumor in men according to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). In the world, 413 thousand new cases are diagnosed each year and it causes around 8,500 deaths in the same period.
At the local level (Argentina), according to the National Cancer Institute, more than 11,000 cases are diagnosed per year, which represents 20% of malignant tumors in men and 9% of all cancers.
65% of them are detected in advanced stages and mortality (as of 2020) was 10.3 x 100,000 inhabitants, being highest in Tierra del Fuego, Misiones and Corrientes and the lowest decile in Santiago del Estero, La Rioja, CABA and La Pampa, following data from the Cancer Epidemiological Surveillance and Reporting Service (SIVER-Ca), and the mortality records of the Directorate of Statistics and Health Information from 2022. Until 2006 it has decreased 0.5% per year and 2.7% since there onwards.
In this sense, the Argentine League to Fight Cancer (LALCEC) invites the community to become aware of the importance of prevention, regular visits to the doctor and carrying out routine studies.
“You cannot do primary prevention, but you can do secondary prevention, that is, early diagnosis ,” said Dr. Carlos Silva , Medical and Psychosocial Coordinator of LALCEC. “Although initially it is an asymptomatic pathology, there are some symptoms that do appear when the tumor is already in a more advanced state. Some of these symptoms are: urinating with blood (hematuria), ejaculation with blood, difficulties urinating and bone pain,” added the specialist.
At the same time, he recalled the risk factors: advanced age (in general it is more common after 50 years of age and 81% of patients are over 65 years of age); African American descent; close family history (father, brother, son); family history of genes that increase the risk for breast cancer (BRCA1 and BRCA2); significant family history of breast cancer and obesity.
"The screening controls would be the digital rectal examination and the PSA (prostate-specific antigen) blood test. Although the PSA may be more sensitive, only 30% with abnormal values have prostate cancer, with 20% false negatives and 40% false positives,” indicated Dr. Silva.
"In general, men are less inclined than women to undergo routine studies, but it is essential that from the age of 50 the indicated controls are carried out, since if this pathology is diagnosed early, it can be cured," concluded the specialist.
