Prostate cancer: The bane of men

Before Movember there is September… also known as Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. While conversations about the prostate are often uncomfortable, they are absolutely necessary given that it is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among men, accounting for about one in five of all new cases of cancer among men.

Approximately one in eight Canadian men are estimated to develop prostate cancer over their lifetime, while 1 in 30 men are expected to die from prostate cancer.

One in five men diagnosed with cancer have prostate cancer

Estimates suggest that just over 127,100 Canadian men will be diagnosed with a new cancer in 2024.

Just over one in five of these diagnoses were for prostate cancer, making it by far the leading cancer found among men.

Over four in five men who die from prostate cancer are aged 70 and older

In 2024, 27,900 men are expected to be diagnosed with prostate cancer, while 5,000 men are expected to die from prostate cancer. Most cases are diagnosed among men aged 50 and older, and 85% of prostate cancer deaths occur among men aged 70 and older.

Prostate cancer five-year net survival rate is approximately 100% at the first three stages

The good news is that when prostate cancer is diagnosed early, the prognosis  is encouraging.

From 2010 to 2017, for example, over half of the prostate cancers (51%) diagnosed were at stage II, while 21% were at stage I.

The five-year net survival rate consistently approaches 100% among men diagnosed with prostate cancer at one of the first three stages but declines to 41% at stage IV.