NEW DELHI: Prostate cancer cases globally are projected to more than double, and deaths are expected to increase by 85 percent between 2020 and 2040, said the latest Lancet report.
The “overwhelming brunt” of this spike will be felt by low-middle-income countries (LMICs) due to “late diagnosis,” which is a norm, and missed opportunities for data collection, said The Lancet Commission on Prostate Cancer.
The researchers projected that the number of new cases of prostate cancer annually will rise from 1·4 million in 2020 to 2·9 million by 2040.
“The projected rise in prostate cancer cases cannot be prevented by lifestyle changes or public health interventions,” the researchers said.
As the rise in prostate cancer is likely to be mirrored by rises in other conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, early diagnosis programmes should focus not just on prostate cancer but on men's health more broadly," the Commission added.
“There remains a shortage of specialist surgeons and radiotherapy equipment in LMICs, and addressing this shortage is key to improving prostate cancer care globally,” they added.
According to Dr. Vimal Dassi, Director of the Department of Urology, Uro-oncology, Robotics and Kidney Transplant, Max Healthcare, Vaishali and Noida, Uttar Pradesh, the incidence rate of prostate cancer is calculated to be 9 per 100,000 men in India, with an increasing trend being seen every year.
“The incidence of prostate cancer in Indian males is lower than in the western populations. Within India, prostate cancer has a wide variation in incidence, disease characteristics, and mortality, with the incidence being higher in the urban population,” Dr Dassi said.
“Prostate cancer is primarily a disease of the elderly, with more than three-quarters of the cases occurring in men above 65,” he said.
Aging populations and improving life expectancy will lead to more cases of prostate cancer in older men, and given that being 50 years or older is a risk factor, lifestyle changes, and public health interventions may not be able to prevent the upcoming surge.
“As more and more men around the world live to middle and old age, there will be an inevitable rise in the number of prostate cancer cases. We know this surge in cases is coming, so we need to start planning and take action now,” said lead author of the Commission, Nick James, professor of prostate and bladder cancer research at The Institute of Cancer Research, London.
The Commission called for evidence-based interventions, including early detection and diagnosis, along with education and awareness programmes, to help save lives from prostate cancer in the coming years.
“This is especially true for low-and middle-income countries which will bear the overwhelming brunt of future cases,” said James.
The authors called for improving the “poor” levels of awareness in LMICs about the dangers and symptoms of metastatic prostate cancer, such as bone pain, among men and their families.
As with early diagnostic capacity, there is a need to scale up availability and improve access to treatments for advanced disease in LMICs, they added.
“Treatment of advanced prostate cancer remains a problem, and affordable therapies are available but are unevenly distributed. Consistent use of these therapies is a cost-effective way to reduce harm from prostate cancer,” the researchers said.