Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, with an estimated one in eight Canadian men they are expected to be diagnosed during their lifetime.

Experts like University of Alberta oncology professor John Lewis say the vast majority of men will have “some prostate cancer at some point in their lives.”

“For prostate cancer that remains located in the prostate, the five-year survival rate is virtually 100 percent,” Lewis said. The dose host Dr. Brian Goldman.

Still, the Canadian Cancer Society estimates that, on average, 14 Canadian men are expected to die from prostate cancer each day in 2024.

“Some prostate cancers are extremely aggressive,” Lewis said.

As a researcher who promotes motion (an annual campaign in which men grow mustaches to raise awareness about men’s health each November) Lewis says the key for doctors and patients is to understand the risks associated with prostate cancer, to determine how to detect and treat the disease.

What is prostate cancer?

The prostate is a gland that is part of the male reproductive system and is located just below the bladder and next to the rectum.

Lewis says he sees prostate cancer as two different diseases “with two completely different outcomes”: what’s known as indolent cancer, which grows slowly and is less dangerous; and metastatic cancer, which spreads outside the prostate and is extremely dangerous if not caught early.

“Indolent prostate cancer… is a cancer that we often say men could die from, but not from,” he said.

In contrast, About three percent of men will die. of Aggressive prostate cancer.

In its early stages, People with prostate cancer may not experience many (or any) symptoms.

However, once the tumor grows, symptoms include more frequent urination, blood in urine or semen, difficulty urinating, painful ejaculation, as well as back, hip and pelvic pain.

Who gets prostate cancer?

Anyone with a prostate, including men, trans women and non-binary people, are at risk of developing prostate cancer. The risk of prostate cancer increases with age, but a family history of prostate cancer is also a risk factor.

Poor diet, lack of exercise and excessive alcohol consumption can also increase the chances of developing prostate cancer.

Surgeon Dr. Adam Kinnaird says U.S. data indicates that black men tend to have higher rates of prostate cancer, as well as more aggressive prostate cancer, than men of other racial or ethnic backgrounds. However, in Canada, Kinnaird says black men were not found to have worse rates of prostate cancer or more aggressive disease.

“But, on average, black men were diagnosed about two years earlier than other Canadians,” said Kinnaird, an assistant professor at the University of Alberta’s faculty of medicine and dentistry.

However, research indicates that indigenous men in Canada they were more likely to have more advanced and aggressive abilities. prostate cancer than other menperhaps because Indigenous men were less likely to be tested for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and were diagnosed at later stages of the disease.

He Canadian Cancer Society suggests that most men get screened for prostate cancer at age 50. Black and Indigenous men, as well as men with a family history of prostate cancer, should be screened around age 45.

Prostate cancer screening

Doctors detect prostate cancer using a PSA test or digital rectal examination (DRE); The age at which the test starts depends on risk factors and where you live.

If the PSA test detects higher than normal levels of the antigen in a patient’s blood (usually greater than three nanograms per liter), that could be an indication of prostate cancer.

Lewis says the PSA test is quite sensitive, although it does not specify whether someone has indolent or metastatic cancer.

SEE | New non-invasive prostate cancer screening offered in Alberta:

New non-invasive prostate cancer screening offered in Alberta

A new prostate cancer screening test is being offered in Alberta. The blood test is used in addition to a prostate-specific antigen test. Dr. John Lewis explains the test that has been twelve years in the making.

If high levels of PSA are detected in a person’s blood, Lewis says the only definitive way to confirm the presence of prostate cancer is with a biopsy.

“A biopsy includes a transrectal ultrasound and then they insert about 12 needles between the legs and into the prostate,” he said. Biopsies carry the risk of infection that can lead to sepsis, which is why Lewis is working on research aimed at improving the detection of prostate cancer in a less invasive way.

How do we treat prostate cancer?

Although there is no cure for metastatic prostate cancer, Kinnaird says radiation and surgery are currently the two main treatments for the disease if the cancer is located in the prostate.

“The two first-line treatment options are removal of the entire prostate or radiation to the entire prostate,” he said.

SEE | Study: Indigenous men have higher risk of developing aggressive prostate cancer:

Study: Indigenous men have a higher risk of developing aggressive prostate cancer.

Researchers at the University of Alberta have published a new study that says Indigenous men have a higher risk of developing aggressive prostate cancer. We spoke to Dr. Adam Kinnaird, one of the co-authors of the study.

Brachytherapy, a treatment that inserts a small radioactive material into the prostate to kill cancer cells, is also sometimes used.

That said, a 2024 study found that 6.4 percent of men treated with brachytherapy had a new cancer at 15 years of follow-up, increasing to 9.8 percent after 20 years.