Prostate overtakes breast cancer as most commonly diagnosed

Prostate cancer is now the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the UK, new figures have revealed.
A symbolic installation featuring statues of eight giant men in  Glasgow in 2018A symbolic installation featuring statues of eight giant men in  Glasgow in 2018
A symbolic installation featuring statues of eight giant men in Glasgow in 2018

Data analysed by the charity Prostate Cancer UK shows prostate cancer has overtaken breast cancer to be the most commonly diagnosed form of the disease. There were 57,192 new cases in 2018 – the most recent data available.

This comes just ahead of 57,153 breast cancer cases, 48,054 cases of lung cancer and 42,879 of bowel cancer.

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Prostate Cancer UK said the news comes a decade earlier than previously predicted, largely due to increased awareness which has led to more men getting diagnosed.

Famous people who have shared their stories include BBC presenter Bill Turnbull and actor and comedian Stephen Fry. Analysis of the new figures suggests new cases of prostate cancer have more than doubled over the past 20 years. Around 400,000 men in the UK are living with the disease or have survived it.

More prostate cancers are now being caught at the locally advanced stage (stage three) when the disease is more treatable than if it has spread.

However, more men are also being diagnosed at early stage one, when the cancer may never cause harm during their lifetime, and therefore close monitoring rather than aggressive treatment is recommended.

Angela Culhane, chief executive of Prostate Cancer UK, said: “While it’s good news that more men have been having conversations with their GPs and being diagnosed earlier, it only serves to reinforce the need not only for better treatments which can cure the disease, but for better tests that can differentiate between aggressive prostate cancer that needs urgent treatment and those which are unlikely to ever cause any harm.

“We need research now more than ever, which is why it really is devastating that so much of it has been brought to a standstill by the Covid-19 crisis. Accelerating research to recover from this major setback will cost millions, but at the same time we’re predicting an unprecedented drop in our fundraising due to the impact of the pandemic.” The charity warned the Covid-19 pandemic is leading to a reduction in referrals for all types of cancer, including prostate cancer.

Ms Culhane said: “We know that the Covid-19 pandemic will have knock-on effects on diagnosis and treatment for prostate cancer for some time to come.”

Mr Turnbull said: “It is really very humbling to think that by sharing my prostate cancer experience, I may have helped more men come forward.”

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