A report on prostate cancer by The Lancet Commission has unveiled a looming global crisis in the fight against the disease. According to the commission’s findings, cases of prostate cancer are set to double from 1.4 million annually in 2020 to a staggering 2.9 million per year by 2040.
This alarming revelation was disclosed during a recent presentation at the European Association of Urology Congress. What is more concerning is the projection that it will be the low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) that will see the surge in these cases.
In another worrying prediction, the Commission estimates an 85% increase in annual deaths worldwide over the same 20-year period, soaring from 375,000 deaths in 2020 to nearly 700,000 deaths by 2040. It’s feared that the actual numbers may be even higher due to under-diagnosis and insufficient data collection in LMICs. The burden of these fatalities is expected to weigh heavily on LMICs, where both the number of cases and mortality rates are on the rise.
In stark contrast, deaths from prostate cancer have seen a decline in most high-income countries (HICs) since the mid-1990s.
Prostate cancer is already a significant contributor to mortality and disability, accounting for 15% of all male cancers globally. In the United Kingdom, it ranks as the second most common cause of cancer deaths among men, while in more than half of the world’s countries, it stands as the most prevalent form of male cancer.
Adding to the complexity of the situation is the unavoidable nature of the main risk factors for prostate cancer, including age (50 and older) and family history. With ageing population and increasing life expectancy, the number of older men is set to rise in the years ahead. Unfortunately, lifestyle changes or public health interventions alone will not be sufficient to stem the tide of this impending surge in cases.
As the Lancet Commission sounds the alarm on the escalating crisis of prostate cancer, urgent global action is imperative to address the growing burden of this disease and prevent countless lives from being lost to its devastating effects.
Need for quick action
The Commission is asking for quick action to make sure people in low- and middle-income countries are aware of prostate cancer and can get checked and treated early on. Right now, many men in these countries only find out they have prostate cancer when it’s already at an advanced stage.
The Commission thinks it is time that new tools like smartphones, social media, and influencers are used to disseminate information on the same. For example, a group called Project PINK BLUE in Nigeria does this kind of work. They offer free screenings for breast, cervical, and prostate cancer and use things like apps and also influential people to spread the word.
Building a strong system to fight Prostate Cancer
In low- and middle-income countries, there aren’t enough trained doctors or specialized hospitals to provide efficient care for prostate cancer patients. It is important to note that this problem isn’t just for prostate cancer. A study in 2015 found that 9 out of 10 people in LMICs can’t get basic surgery when they need it.
To help more people find out if they have prostate cancer, there needs to be a better way to diagnose it in LMICs. But if we find more cases early, we’ll need more surgeries and radiotherapy to treat them. So, it’s really important to improve hospitals and train more specialists in these countries.
For men whose cancer has spread, finding it sooner and starting treatment earlier can save lives and stop bad problems like back pain or trouble peeing, which can lead to infections and kidney damage.
The Commission authors say that there is a need to do more research to understand prostate cancer in men who aren’t White European. Right now, most of what we know about prostate cancer comes from studies done on White European men in rich countries. But Black men, especially those from West Africa, are more likely to get prostate cancer than White or Asian men, and it isn’t known exactly why.
Black men also have a higher chance of dying from prostate cancer, but the Commission says that it is not sure if it’s because they get more cases of it or if there are other reasons, like differences in how the disease works or problems like poverty or racism. So, more information is needed to figure out what’s causing these differences.