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Incidence, mortality rate of prostate cancer rises

The occurrence and mortality rate of prostate cancer among Taiwanese males has increased over the past few years, a doctor at Keelung Hospital said on Wednesday.

Hsu Wen-chang (許汶蒼), a urologist at the hospital, said department statistics showed that prostate cancer was the No. 10 cause of death in 1994 and No. 7 in 2001, accounting Afor 2.4 percent and 3.6 percent of total deaths respectively.

Hsu urged men aged 50 and above to have rectal and prostate specific antigen (PSA) tests annually for early detection and treatment, which can increase a five-year survival rate to 90 percent.

The cause of prostate cancer is still unknown. However, age, heredity and diet are viewed as important factors, Hsu said, adding that men with a family history of prostate cancer should undergo examinations from the age of 40.

Hsu said symptoms of early-stage prostate cancer include frequent urination, the need to get up during the night to urinate and difficulty starting and maintaining a steady stream of urine.

Symptoms of the later stages include bone pain or paralysis of the lower limbs due to metastasis, he said.

Rectal tests, PSA tests and prostate ultrasound are the methods of diagnosis, Hsu said, while treatments include surgery, hormone therapy, radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

Hsu said that an early-stage prostate cancer patient who undergoes laparoscopic radical prostatectomy has a much higher chance of recovery.
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