Prostate cancer found in half of men over 60 at time of death

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Half of men over the age of 60 who were studied posthumously were found to have prostate cancer even though they died of other causes, a new study out of Mount Sinai Hospital shows.

The study shows that a large proportion of prostate cancer tumours are in fact not life-threatening, Dr. Alexandre Zlotta said Friday.

Results show there should be an improved screening method which would detect the disease based on clinical significance and level of aggressiveness instead of screening for all forms of this cancer.

The findings also say the common use of prostate-specific antigen testing for the disease increases the risk of detecting low-risk prostate cancers and leads to unnecessary treatments.

?In North America, men with clinically significant prostate cancer are offered radical treatment usually in the form of surgery or radiation and there are heavy personal tolls to these treatments,? Zlotta said. ?But our study shows that in Japan, despite completely different lifestyles, despite a much lower incidence of clinically detected prostate cancer, and a much lower mortality rate due to prostate cancer compared to men in North America, Asian men have similar prevalence of the disease, but they aren?t dying from it.?

Caucasian men in Russia, who share the same characteristics as men in North America, such as a high-fat diet and reduced sun exposure, were used in the study.

The study also researched Asian men in Japan, who generally have a lower death rate from prostate cancer than men in North America as they eat healthier diets.

By studying two different populations, the research showed that the differences in incidence and mortality rates, and in genetics and lifestyle factors, the likelihood of prostate cancer was similar in both Caucasian and Asian men.

The prostate cancer in Asian men was actually more aggressive but they actually died from other factors.

The medical community needs to reexamine the definitions of ?clinically unimportant? and ?clinically significant? prostate cancer, Zlotta said.

?The study emphasizes the importance of understanding how many men in North America over a certain age harbour the latent form of prostate cancer, as this population is often over-diagnosed and over-treated, potentially leading to major side effects that affect lifestyle and personal well-being,? he said.

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Source: http://www.torontosun.com/2013/07/12/prostate-cancer-found-in-half-of-men-over-60-at-time-of-death

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