China News Service, Beijing, April 23 (Zhang Yilin) For many middle-aged and elderly men, prostate cancer is one of the malignant tumors that need to be vigilant.
In recent years, with the aging process, the incidence of prostate cancer in my country has increased rapidly.
Who needs to be extra careful with prostate cancer?
What misconceptions do the public have about prostate cancer?
Chinanews.com's "Medical Line Observation" series of video interviews on "Scientific Prevention of Cancer with Early Action" invited Zhang Qian, Chief Physician of the Department of Urology of Peking University First Hospital and President of Peking University Binhai Hospital, to interpret the prevention and treatment of prostate cancer.
Zhang Qian, chief physician of the Department of Urology, Peking University First Hospital, was a guest in a video interview with Chinanews.com.
On the right is Zhang Qian.
Photo by Cao Miaoxin of China News Service.
Be especially careful with these men!
Prostate is known as the "life gland" of men. In recent years, prostate cancer has become the fastest-growing male malignant tumor in China, seriously threatening the health of Chinese men.
At present, the etiology of prostate cancer is still unclear, but from the regional observation, the incidence of prostate cancer is related to living habits.
Zhang Qian introduced that the incidence of prostate cancer is relatively high in European and American countries. In Asian countries, the incidence of prostate cancer in Japan is not too high, and a high-fat diet may increase the incidence of prostate cancer. The incidence of cancer is relatively high, on the one hand, this is related to the diet structure, on the other hand, people in these areas are more aware of their health and have a high penetration rate of medical examinations.”
"Prostate cancer has almost no symptoms in the early stage, and the onset is very insidious." Zhang Qian said, the insidiousness of the onset of prostate cancer makes screening particularly important. If you want to catch prostate cancer at an early stage, you can start from the population characteristics of prostate cancer.
Zhang Qian said that increasing age is an important risk factor for prostate cancer, and at the same time, prostate cancer is also closely related to genetic factors.
"If your parents have prostate cancer, generally speaking, you should start regular prostate cancer screening after the age of 45. It is particularly simple to check a blood PSA (prostate-specific antigen). If there is no family history, after the age of 50, Regular PSA screenings are also required.”
Zhang Qian said that the vast majority of prostate cancer patients are over the age of 50. "If you find a prostate tumor in your 20s, it is often not prostate cancer, but prostate sarcoma. It has a very high degree of malignancy, but it is very rare in clinical practice."
In addition, Zhang Qian also reminded that some symptoms related to prostate diseases, such as frequent urination, urgency, and poor urination that often occur in middle-aged and elderly men, cannot be simply equated with prostate tumors. The diagnosis of prostate cancer requires strict screening.
The physical examination found that the tumor markers were elevated, so don't be afraid!
In recent years, many physical examination items have added tumor marker examination, among which, male physical examination often includes prostate-specific antigen, that is, PSA screening.
So, if the physical examination report shows that the PSA level is elevated, does it mean that you have prostate cancer?
"This tumor marker for prostate cancer is very sensitive. The normal value is below 4. If it exceeds 4, further screening is required. So, does an elevated PSA mean prostate cancer? The answer is no."
Zhang Qian said that elevated PSA may also be prostatitis, and acute prostatitis will also increase PSA. At this time, it can be identified by observing whether there is fever, whether there is acute dysuria, whether there is urinary retention and other symptoms.
Experts said that if prostate cancer is highly suspected, it can be further judged by pelvic MRI, and if it is still difficult to diagnose, the final diagnosis can be made by prostate puncture.
"The prostate has no pain nerves, so there is no very strong pain during the puncture process. At present, there is no evidence that the puncture will lead to the spread of the tumor." Zhang Qian said.
In addition, experts remind that although the malignancy of urinary tract tumors is relatively low, and the mortality rate of prostate cancer has continued to decline in recent years, we still cannot take it lightly.
"Prostate cancer is found through puncture examination, and different treatment methods can be adopted to allow each patient to receive individualized treatment, so as to obtain the best treatment effect."
Don't take it lightly! This tumor can kill
Zhang Qian said that some people believe that the mortality rate of prostate cancer is low and does not require active treatment, and that prostate cancer "will not die if it is cured."
In fact, prostate cancer can also be fatal.
For example, when some patients have bone metastasis, lymph node metastasis, etc., it is necessary to control the lesions of the whole body through comprehensive treatment such as surgical resection of the tumor, drug therapy, radiation therapy, and endocrine therapy.
"The three- or five-year survival rate for this type of patient is very low if there is no surgical approach or comprehensive treatment."
For early-stage prostate cancer, surgery is the gold standard of treatment, experts say.
At the same time, there are other curative treatments, such as radiotherapy and other non-surgical methods to cure the disease.
"If you have prostate cancer, you must consult a urologist and actively choose the next treatment plan. The urologist will consider each patient's cancer stage, age, whether there are other health problems, and the patient's views on various treatment options. Individualized prostate cancer treatment options."
In addition, for the problem of urinary incontinence after surgery that many patients are worried about, experts say that short-term urinary incontinence may occur within 3 to 6 months after surgery, but more than 95% or even more than 98% of patients can be in the long-term. Achieve satisfactory social continence (0 or 1 pad per day).
"With the advancement of medical technology and the improvement of treatment methods, surgical methods have become more and more accurate, and the incidence of permanent urinary incontinence is very low, so everyone does not need to talk about cancer discoloration." (End)