Fast Facts
Quick and informative prostate cancer facts
- Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among people assigned male at birth, according to Cleveland Clinic.
- Black patients are at greater risk for prostate cancer and are more likely to have aggressive and advanced disease compared with non-Black counterparts, according to Mayo Clinic.
- Patients can be screened for prostate cancer using a digital rectal exam or a PSA test.
- Both prostate cancer and its treatment may cause incontinence and erectile dysfunction.
- Prostate cancer can be diagnosed using MRI, transrectal ultrasound and needle biopsy.
- According to American Cancer Society, overdiagnosis and overtreatment can seriously affect a patient’s quality of life, which can be an issue because prostate cancer can grow very slowly.
- WHO reports that in 2020, 1.41 million deaths occurred as a result of prostate cancer.
- National Alliance of State Prostate Cancer Coalitions recommends baseline PSA testing of people assigned male at birth beginning in their 40s.
- While annual screening has been proven to help detect more prostate cancers, it has not been proven that it lowers the death rate.
- Individuals with high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia may be at an increased risk for prostate cancer.
References:
- American Cancer Society. Can prostate cancer be found early? Available at: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/prostate-cancer/detection-diagnosis-staging/detection.html. Accessed May 2, 2023.
- Cleveland Clinic. Prostate cancer. Available at: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/8634-prostate-cancer. Accessed May 2, 2023.
- International Prostate Cancer Foundation. About prostate cancer. Available at: https://www.fightingprostatecancer.org/education. Accessed May 2, 2023.
- Mayo Clinic. Prostate cancer. Available at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/prostate-cancer/symptoms-causes/syc-20353087. Accessed May. 2, 2023.
- National Alliance of State Prostate Cancer Coalitions. Home. Available at https://www.naspcc.org/. Accessed May. 3, 2023.
- World Health Organization. Cancer. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cancer. Accessed May 2, 2023.