The trend of decreased screening in men may be linked to growing rates of metastatic prostate cancer, according to a new study published in Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases.
For the comprehensive study, a team of researchers analyzed data from 767,550 men diagnosed with prostate cancer between 2004 and 2013 at 1,089 facilities across the country. The data was compiled in the National Cancer Data Base. Analysis determined that the rates of prostate cancer being first detected after it had spread to other parts of the body increased by 72 percent during the period of study. Also, in the last 10 years, there has been a significant decline in the percentage of men being screened for prostate cancer.
"One hypothesis is the disease has become more aggressive, regardless of the change in screening. The other idea is since screening guidelines have become more lax, when men do get diagnosed, it's at a more advanced stage of disease. Probably both are true. We don't know for sure but this is the focus of our current work." said senior study author Edward Schaeffer, MD, PhD, chair of urology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. "If I were a patient, I would want to be vigilant...screening and rectal exams save lives."
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