An ageing population means more men are developing and dying from the disease.

Prostate Cancer UK says advances in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer are paying off, and increased funding could benefit prostate cancer.

The biggest cancer killers in the UK remain lung and bowel cancer, with prostate now in third place.

The latest figures from 2015 show there were 11,819 deaths from prostate cancer compared with 11,442 from breast cancer.

Although deaths from prostate cancer have been rising over the past 10 years or so, the mortality rate or the proportion of men dying from the disease has fallen – by 6% – between 2010 and 2015.

For breast cancer the mortality rate has come down by 10%, meaning deaths in women are declining more quickly.

Gary Pettit was 43 when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, five years ago, after a routine medical through work.

He had no symptoms – only an abnormally high PSA (prostate-specific antigen) blood test, which led to further tests and biopsies.

Within weeks, he had a seven-hour operation at the Royal Marsden in London to remove the cancer.

“I’m a lucky boy. I stored my sperm before the op and now we’ve got a little seven-month-old miracle baby, called Teddy. I can’t say how lucky I’ve been.”

Gary says recovering from the surgery took quite a while and there were some side-effects which he is still getting used to – but he is clear of cancer and keen to raise awareness among other men.

“It is still a taboo subject with men. They get shy and embarrassed, but it’s so important to get checked out.”

‘Tremendous progress’

Angela Culhane, chief executive of the charity Prostate Cancer UK, said the disease currently received half the funding and half the research that is devoted to breast cancer.

She said developing better diagnostic tests that could be used as part of a nationwide screening programme would be a priority.

At present, there is no single, reliable test for prostate cancer – the PSA test, biopsies and physical examinations are all used.

Men with prostate cancer can also live for decades without symptoms or needing treatment because the disease often progresses very slowly.

Ms Culhane said: “It’s incredibly encouraging to see the tremendous progress that has been made in breast cancer over recent years.

“The introduction of precision medicine, a screening programme and a weighty research boost has no doubt played an important role in reducing the number of women who die from the disease.

“The good news is that many of these developments could be applied to prostate cancer and we’re confident that with the right funding, we can dramatically reduce deaths within the next decade.”

Living longer

Michael Chapman, director of information and involvement at Cancer Research UK, said: “The number of men getting and dying from prostate cancer is increasing mostly because of population growth and because we are living longer.

“We’re dedicated to improving diagnosis and treatments for all cancers which is why we’re investing in research to help develop more treatments to give more people more time this World Cancer Day on Sunday.”

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Source: BBC

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The test detects cancer DNA in the blood, helping doctors check whether precision drugs are working.

Cancer Research UK said the test could “greatly improve survival”.

But larger studies involving more men needed to take place to confirm if doctors could rely on the test, the charity said.

Blood samples from 49 men with advanced prostate cancer were collected by researchers, as part of the phase II clinical trial of a drug called olaparib.

This type of precision drug is seen as the future of cancer medicine but because it is a targeted treatment, the drug does not work for everyone.

Researchers from The Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust said the test could help target treatment better and also reduce its side effects.

They used it to identify men who were not responding to the treatment in four to eight weeks and also to pick up signs that the cancer was evolving and becoming resistant to the drugs.

‘Major impact’

Prof Johann de Bono, consultant medical oncologist at the two organisations, said: “From these findings, we were able to develop a powerful, three-in-one test that could in future be used to help doctors select treatment, check whether it is working and monitor the cancer in the longer term.”

He added: “Not only could the test have a major impact on treatment of prostate cancer, but it could also be adapted to open up the possibility of precision medicine to patients with other types of cancer.”

Dr Aine McCarthy, senior science information officer at Cancer Research UK, said the blood test was an “exciting” development.

“The test has the potential to greatly improve survival for the disease by ensuring patients get the right treatment for them at the right time and that they aren’t being given a treatment that’s no longer working,” she said.

“Further studies involving a larger group of men will confirm if doctors should use this test when treating patients with advanced prostate cancer.”

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men.

Over 46,000 men are diagnosed with the disease every year in the UK.

Dr Matthew Hobbs, from Prostate Cancer UK, said: “The results from this study and others like it are crucial as they give an important understanding of the factors that drive certain prostate cancers, or make them vulnerable to specific treatments.”

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Source: BBC

The post Prostate cancer blood test ‘helps target treatment’ appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.