SAÚDE
Casos de cancro da próstata duplicam em 20 anos
April 5, 2024 -
O número de homens diagnosticados com cancro da próstata – a forma
mais comum de cancro masculino em mais de 100 países – deverá
duplicar para 2,9 milhões por ano até 2040, com mais 85% de óbitos para um total de 700.000.
Symptoms of prostate cancer include more frequent need to urinate, or difficulty urinating, often at night. However, these are also caused by benign prostate hyperplasia, an enlargement of the prostate common in men over 50. As age is a major factor in the number of people living with prostate cancer, an ageing population and increased life expectancy means there will be an inevitable rise in the number of cases, according to the findings published in The Lancet’s Commission on Prostate Cancer.
The researchers called for new and improved ways of testing for the disease, to reduce overdiagnosis and overtreatment while detecting potentially lethal tumours earlier. High-income countries need to re-evaluate the use of Prostate Specific Antigen blood tests which can result in overdiagnosis of low-risk cancers while also missing some high-risk cancers, and instead spend more on public awareness campaigns and MRI tests for younger men with a family history of the disease, are of African ancestry, or carry a genetic susceptibility. Lower and middle-income countries are advised to prepare for the strain on services that a surge in cases is likely to bring.