Men, have you done prostate cancer screening?

Everyone should know these familiar names, such as the stock god Buffett, Taiwanese writer Li Ao, South African President Mandela, and media tycoon Murdoch.

They are from different countries, different fields, and different eras, and seem to have no connection, but they all have one thing in common: they are all prostate cancer patients.

The prostate is a male-specific organ, so prostate cancer is also a male-specific cancer. Currently, prostate cancer has become one of the malignant tumors that seriously threaten men's health.

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According to relevant research statistics, the incidence rate of prostate cancer in Chinese cities is 17.26/100,000. In Shanghai, prostate cancer has ranked fifth among common male tumors and first among urinary system tumors.

Not only does my country have one of the highest numbers of people suffering from prostate cancer in the world, but its five-year survival rate is also only 53.5%. This compares to the United States during the same period, where the five-year survival rate for prostate cancer has reached 99%.

Why is there such a big difference in survival rates between China and the United States?

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Compared with China, the 5-year survival rate in the United States is almost twice that of ours. Many people are curious about what causes such a big difference between us.

In fact, our problem is not our treatment level, but the lack of early detection and early treatment. Many Chinese prostate cancer patients wait until the advanced stage to go to the hospital for treatment, which results in the treatment being too late to save the patient.

The key to early detection of prostate cancer is prostate cancer screening, and its main examination is rectal digital examination combined with prostate-specific antigen (pSA) test.

pSA is also recognized as the best screening method for early detection of prostate cancer. Therefore, when patients go to the hospital for prostate cancer screening, doctors usually do a rectal digital examination and draw blood to check for pSA.

Which groups of people need early screening?

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Currently, Chinese clinical guidelines recommend that early prostate cancer screening should be performed for these two groups of people:

01Male over 50 years old

The risk of prostate cancer increases with age, so clinical guidelines recommend that men over 50 years old should have their pSA checked once a year.

Men who have lower urinary tract symptoms, such as frequent urination, urgency, increased urination, or difficulty urinating, should have a temporary pSA test.

02Patients with family history

If your family has had prostate cancer, you should start screening at the age of 45. The screening method is to check the prostate specific antigen and do a digital rectal examination to see if there are nodules in the local prostate.