Prostate Cancer Awareness Month is a globally recognised and celebrated healthcare event observed every year for the entirety of a November month. During the entire month various awareness campaigns and activities to promote are conducted by several organizations across the world in understanding the early diagnosis, treatment and the preventive tips for prostate cancer.

Prostate Cancer Awareness campaigns are mainly focused on encouraging male population posing with high risk factors to take preventative measures for their prostate health, to avoid any risk of prostate cancer and any conditions which could lead to prostate cancer in the future.
 

Importance of Prostate Cancer Awareness Month (PCAM)

The prostate cancer in India is increasingly becoming very common, especially in the metropolitan cities of India. Earlier it was the 8th common cancer in males in the 1990s, but now it moved to 3rd place by 2015. This is very unfortunate because prostate cancer is one of the very rare type of cancers which can be prevented 100% when detected early.

Acknowledging the fact that the prostate cancer is responsible for the increased death toll over the years is disheartening when it was understood that each patient could be saved and every death could be prevented 100% – only if proper awareness was as widely spread as breast cancer awareness. In India, a total of 37,416 cases of prostate cancer were reported in 2016. It was projected to increase to over 47,000 cases by 2025.

For early detection of prostate cancer, men must be actively screened. Although the screenings are done, they could accelerate a thousand-fold only if the awareness of prostate cancer is rampant and when the people can understand this is a completely preventive and thus, awareness can be life-saving. 

This explains the necessity and importance of Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.

Prostate Cancer Awareness Month 2022 Theme

This year 2022, Prostate Cancer Awareness Month theme is “Awareness and Early Diagnosis Saves Lives“, which emphasis on encouraging male population mainly old age those who are at high risk to take preventative measures for their prostate health, to avoid any risk of prostate cancer and any conditions which could lead to prostate cancer in the future. 

Providing the male population with the knowledge of Prostate Cancer was helpful in not only understanding the awareness and early diagnosis of avoiding the affliction.
early diagnosis of avoiding the affliction.

History of Prostate Cancer

History of Prostate Cancer Awareness Month (PCAM)

As the looming dread of prostate cancer hung over the planet, various organisations and government agencies have started to spread awareness and early detection by campaigning through Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. The Prostate Cancer Awareness Month established by one organisation need not be synchronous and consistent with the other organisations around the world. For example: 

• The Canadian government in Nunavut recognised November Prostate Cancer Awareness Month since 2015
• The North American health experts, health advocates, and individuals concerned with men’s prostate health and prostate cancer established September as Prostate Cancer Awareness Month since 1999.
• University of Wisconsin in America is promoting the Prostate Cancer Awareness Month in November as “National Men’s Health Awareness Month” 
• Similarly, in the United Kingdom, Australia, Nigeria and in a few states of the United States, and other countries, “Movember” (Male November) is an awareness campaign in which men grow out their facial hair for men’s health (No Shave November), especially prostate cancer, during the month of November. Various resources for raising prostate cancer awareness distributed to Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. 

Hope for Prostate Cancer Awareness Month (PCAM)

Despite the impending death toll, a hope for change can still be expected with the awareness campaigns. According to a 2018 study, males would respond to a gender-specific health promotion campaign. Men are willing to respond to the masculine motivation in improving the poor health behaviors, such as invoking nostalgia from earlier sporting experiences. Prostate Cancer Awareness Month (PCAM) may be able to leverage these masculine-focused techniques to remove the negative stigma associated with men’s health advocacy.

Preventative measures for Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is primarily a “disease of aging” which meant in the proportionality of increasing the chances of developing prostate cancer with age. Along with uncontrollable factors such as age, race and genetics, there are also controllable factors which can help in the reduction of prostate cancer risk. They include: 

• Diet and Lifestyle
• Maintain a Healthy Weight
• Stop Smoking and Drink Less
• Increase vitamin D
• Staying Sexually Active 

Diet and Lifestyle

• Poor eating habits with high fats and animal proteins can damage DNA and contribute to cancer.
• Reduce fat consumption.
• Consume fewer trans and saturated fats.
• Concentrate on healthy fats like omega-3 fatty acids from nuts, seeds, and seafood.
• Increase intake of fruits and vegetables. Antioxidant lycopene, abundant in tomatoes, can decrease the development of prostate cancer cells. Sulforaphane from broccoli and cauliflower can protect against cancer.
• Charred meat must be avoided, as from high-temperature frying or grilling may generate a chemical component that causes cancer.

Maintain a Healthy Weight

• Obesity increases the chance of aggressive prostate cancer. Maintaining a healthy weight with advance in age can lower risk of cancer.
• Exercise, apart from helping lose weight, can lower inflammation, and negate the impacts of a sedentary lifestyle also boost immune function which can help prevent cancer.

Stop Smoking and Moderate Drinking

• Quitting smoking can benefit health can decrease cancer risk.
• Drinking in moderation helps as red wine offers antioxidant characteristics that may be beneficial for health.

Increase Vitamin D

• The majority of individuals do not receive enough vitamin D, which can help guard against prostate cancer.
• Cod liver oil, wild salmon, and dried shitake mushrooms are all high in vitamin D.
• Many doctors advocate taking 10 minutes of sun exposure (without sunscreen) every day since the sun is a better, more easily available source of vitamin D.
• Vitamin D pills can be recommended by doctors if necessary.

Stay Sexually Active

• According to studies, men who ejaculate more frequently (with or without a sexual partner) are up to two-thirds less likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer. 
• Experts believe that ejaculation clears the body of toxins and other elements that may cause inflammation.

Know more: Diagnosis and Treatment of Prostate Cancer

Department of Urology for Prostate Diseases

The Prevalence of Prostate Cancer Among Young Men Below 55 Years of Age in Nigeria In Nigeria , a total of 1.44Million cases of prostate cancer were reported in 2020.

Introduction

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. It was initially a disease of older men above the age of 55 years. Of recent, there has been reports of increase in the number of young men <55 years with prostate cancer (PCa). The disease in this age group has been reported to be more lethal because of aggressive characteristics and metastatic potential. Different populations have different proportions of young-onset PCa. The aim of this study was to determine the proportion of young men aged <55 years with PCa in Nigeria.

Methods

Data on the prevalence of young men <55 years with PCa was extracted from the 2022 report of the prevalence of cancer in Nigeria from 2009 to 2016 based on the records of 15 major Cancer Registries in Nigeria. This was a publication of the Nigerian Ministry of Health and represents the most up to date data.

Results

In 4864 men diagnosed with malignancies before age 55, PCa was the second common, following liver cancer. Out of a total of 4091 cases of PCa in all age groups, 355 were diagnosed in men <55 years representing 8.86%. Furthermore, the proportion of young men with the disease in the Northern part of the country was 11.72%, whereas in the South, it was 7.77%.

Conclusions

PCa is the second most common cancer in young Nigerian men aged< 55 years preceded by liver cancer. The proportion of young men with PCa was 8.86%. It is therefore important to consider PCa in young men as a different entity and develop appropriate ways to control this disease to ensure survival and good quality of life.

Keywords: prostate, cancer, proportion, young men, Nigeria
Go to:Introduction

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common cancer among men older than 55 years of age. Globally, more than 1.4 4 million cases were diagnosed in 2020 with age-standardised incidence rate (ASIR) of 30.7 per 100,000 males. Although continents of the developed economies with ASIR of 59 per 100,000 have age-standardised mortality rate (ASMR) of 8.3 per 100,000, countries of Africa with low ASIR of 30 per 100,000 have high ASMR of 16.3 per 100,000. 1 Close to 60% of PCa are diagnosed in men 65 years or older. Although it can be seen from the age of 50 years and above, the rate of occurrences rapidly increases from the age of 55 years. 2 Previous autopsy reports revealed latent PCa in 3% of African-American men aged 20 to 29 years, 26% of men aged 30 to 39 years and in 50% of men aged 30 to 44 years. 3 The incidence of PCa has been increasing in patients less than 55 years of recent. In the USA, PCa in young men increased by 5.7-fold (95% CI 5.0, 6.7) between 1986 and 2008 from 5.6 to 32 cases per 100,000 person years. 4 This was however attributed to the wide use of PSA screening. Although ethnicity and other factors such as genetics (BRCA2 and HOXB13 mutations) often significantly increase the chances in younger men, the reason for overall extent of occurrence is not clear. 2 It has been postulated that BRCA2 carriers had about 23-fold increased risk of early PCa; nevertheless, BRCA2 mutation was described in only 2% of PCa cases diagnosed at the age of ≤55 years in a study report. 2 This implies that other factors including yet-to-be-identified genetic, epidemiologic and environmental factors can also be contributory factors. Young-age PCa has been defined as any PCa, regardless of tumour extent or clinical manifestations in men aged <55 years.