"One drop of blood" can detect tumors! Men must pay attention to this examination

"As long as you live long enough, you will definitely encounter prostate problems." This sentence is widely circulated in the men's circle, which makes most men take an indifferent attitude towards minor prostate problems.

However, in fact, prostate cancer is a disease that ranks second among all male malignant tumors. Although its early cure rate can reach more than 95%, or even 100% clinical cure, less than 30% of patients are found in the early stage, and the rest are mostly patients with local advanced stage or multiple metastases. Even after standardized treatment, the results are often not ideal.

Why are common cancers with both high incidence and high cure rates?

Why is it difficult to detect in the early stages?

This issue's guidance experts

Zhu Shaoxing/Director of Urology Department, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital

Zhu Shaoxing, chief physician and director of the Urology Department of Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, said that age is a very important factor in inducing prostate cancer. Especially at the moment when life expectancy is steadily increasing, the incidence of prostate cancer is increasing year by year, placing a heavy burden on men's healthy lives.

In addition, family genetic factors, high stress in daily life, emotional anxiety, smoking, high-fat diet habits, etc. may all cause prostate cancer. "Our diet structure has changed from high carbohydrates to high fat and high protein, which has led to an increase in the incidence of prostate cancer to a certain extent." He pointed out that the reason why prostate cancer is called "rich cancer" is closely related to the improvement of modern people's living standards and their eating habits of eating and drinking. Studies have shown that excessive intake of high-fat foods will increase the synthesis of cholesterol, thereby increasing the synthesis of androgens, and the increase of androgens is an important factor leading to prostate cancer.

However, Zhu Shaoxing also pointed out that prostate cancer is not terrible. It is a "chronic" malignant tumor that grows very slowly. If prostate cancer can be detected in the early stage, the cure rate is very high. Unfortunately, most patients are diagnosed with prostate cancer in the late stage of metastasis, and the prognosis is often poor.

The main reason is that the concept is not in place. Clinically speaking, the early symptoms of prostate cancer are often relatively hidden, and in this case, it is often difficult for patients to detect. In particular, many elderly people are prone to urinary urgency, frequent urination, and bifurcated urine, but for those with prostate health problems, the appearance of these symptoms may be a "signal" of prostate cancer. However, many people do not seem to be aware of this, so they ignore the link of early screening.

Moreover, prostate color Doppler ultrasound has certain limitations in detecting early prostate cancer. Its clear screening program is to do a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, which is also the most convenient and sensitive method for early screening of prostate cancer. On this basis, a puncture biopsy is combined to determine the final test results. However, this test is not included in routine physical examinations. Due to economic conditions and inadequate ideological concepts, many high-risk groups do not undergo timely examinations, thus regrettably missing the best time to detect early prostate cancer. In addition, prostate cancer often occurs in the peripheral zone of the prostate, so digital rectal examination is also an important method for early detection of prostate cancer.

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a protein produced by the prostate gland, which is mainly found in semen and has a very low concentration in the blood. When the structure of the prostate gland is damaged by cancerous cells, a large amount of PSA will enter the blood and be monitored. PSA testing is also a more humane screening method in cancer screening, and problems can be detected through blood tests.

Zhu Shaoxing pointed out that at present, the clinical treatment goal for early prostate cancer is "three consecutive wins", namely "tumor control", "urine control" and "sexual control", that is, to completely remove the tumor while being able to control urination and maintain sexual function. Therefore, it is recommended that men over 50 years old and men over 40 years old with a clear family history of prostate cancer should undergo PSA testing and rectal digital examination once a year. Once diagnosed with prostate cancer, do not worry too much, face the disease, and go to a regular hospital for treatment as soon as possible, which will help treatment and faster recovery.