Surgeons Target Brothers of Men with Prostate Cancer

Having a primary relative with prostate cancer gives a man a threefold risk of developing the disease, but many siblings of men with prostate cancer are unaware of this risk, according to a study presented at the annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons in Chicago (IL, USA).

For men who have two relatives with prostate cancer, the risk rises to sevenfold. Because the risk is so high, surgeons are encouraging relatives of men with prostate cancer to start screening when they are 40 rather than wait until they are 50. In the study, 60% of men whose brothers were diagnosed with prostate cancer said they had poor knowledge of the disease. Among the 40% who increased their knowledge of the disease, 75% began participating in prostate cancer screening. In contrast, among the 60% who did not increase their knowledge of prostate cancer, only 16% became involved in prostate cancer screening. A majority of these men came from rural communities and were at lower socioeconomic levels.

Surgeons at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill, USA), who conducted the study, are now actively trying to identify siblings of men with prostate cancer and providing them with pamphlets and other information as well as interacting with community groups to spread the information.

"Compared with 12 or 24 months ago, we are much more aggressive as far as our efforts to educate the people we deem to be at high risk, especially those who don't have access to information,” said Dr. Raj Pruthi. "I didn't before, but now I ask men if they have any brothers, and make a one- or two-minute statement and hand them a brochure.”




Related Links:
U. of North Carolina