Roundup: More Men are Being Diagnosed with Prostate Cancer at Advanced Stage, and More News

Prostate Cancer Cases Are Rising, While More Men are Being Diagnosed at Advanced Stage, New Report says

Prostate cancer diagnoses are increasing in the United States, underscoring the importance of knowing individual risk and discussing screening with a healthcare provider.

During Prostate Cancer Awareness Month in September, the American Cancer Society (ACS) reports that new cases rose about 3 percent annually from 2014 through 2022. The sharpest increase was in cancers diagnosed at an advanced stage, when the disease has spread beyond the prostate and can be more difficult to treat.

The ACS estimates that 333,830 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in the U.S. in 2026 and 36,320 men will die from the disease.

“We’re seeing two things happen at once: more men are being diagnosed with prostate cancer, and a growing share of those cases are happening at a more advanced stage,” said William Dahut, M.D., chief scientific officer at the American Cancer Society, in a news release.. “That tells us screening conversations are happening too late for too many men, particularly those at high risk for the disease.”

Risk Is Not the Same for Everyone

Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers among men. About one in eight men will be diagnosed during his lifetime, according to the ACS.

Risk increases rapidly after age 50. Black and Caribbean men also face a higher risk. Compared with White men, Black men are nearly 70 percent more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer and twice as likely to die from it, the ACS reports.

Family history matters as well. Men with close relatives who developed prostate cancer, particularly at younger ages, may face increased risk. Certain inherited gene changes can also raise the likelihood of developing the disease.

Despite the risks, prostate cancer is often highly treatable, particularly when found before it has spread. More than 3.5 million men in the U.S. who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer are alive today.

When Should Screening Begin?

Prostate cancer screening typically includes a prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, blood test. PSA is a protein produced by prostate cells. Higher levels can be associated with prostate cancer, although noncancerous conditions can also raise PSA.

Because screening has potential benefits and limitations, the ACS recommends discussing it with a healthcare provider rather than automatically testing everyone at the same age.

Men at average risk should have the conversation at age 50. The ACS recommends starting at age 45 for Black men and men with a close relative diagnosed with prostate cancer before age 65. Men at even higher risk, including those with multiple close relatives diagnosed at an early age, should begin the discussion at age 40.

Don’t Wait for Symptoms

Early prostate cancer often causes no symptoms, making risk assessment and screening discussions particularly important.

“Knowing your personal risk is the start of a conversation that can change your outcome,” Dr. Dahut said. “That first conversation with a doctor should happen before symptoms appear, not after.”

The key, according to the ACS, is personalized screening based on age, family history, race and other risk factors — with the goal of identifying potentially serious cancers while they are still more treatable.

Learn more about prostate cancer screenings.

Stool-Based Colorectal Cancer Screening May Prevent More Deaths Than Previously Thought

A new study suggests that routine colorectal cancer screening using stool-based blood tests may save more lives than earlier estimates indicated. Researchers found that simply being invited to participate in screening was associated with a 26 percent reduction in deaths from colorectal cancer. Among people who actually participated, the reduction in colorectal cancer deaths reached 43 percent.

The findings, published in JAMA Network Open, come from a long-term study involving more than 376,000 adults in Sweden who were followed for up to 14 years.

What Is a Fecal Occult Blood Test?

A fecal occult blood test (FOBT) checks for tiny amounts of blood in stool that are not visible to the naked eye. Blood in the stool can be an early sign of colorectal cancer or precancerous growths called polyps.

People who have a positive test result are typically referred for a colonoscopy, a procedure that allows doctors to examine the colon and remove suspicious growths. (Consult with your primary care physician about your colorectal cancer screening options).

Because colorectal cancer often develops slowly and may not cause symptoms in its early stages, screening can help detect disease when treatment is more effective.

How the Study Was Conducted

Researchers analyzed data from a population-based screening program in the Stockholm-Gotland region of Sweden between 2008 and 2021.

The study included adults ages 60 to 69 who were either invited to participate in screening or assigned to a comparison group. Investigators tracked colorectal cancer diagnoses and deaths over time.

A key goal was to account for factors that may have underestimated the benefits of screening in previous analyses. For example, some people in the screening group later developed cancer after their screening invitations had ended, while some people in the comparison group eventually received screening invitations. Researchers adjusted their calculations to account for these factors, as well as for people who chose not to participate after being invited.

What the Researchers Found

In the original analysis, screening appeared to reduce colorectal cancer deaths by about 14 percent.

However, after adjusting for factors that could blur the true effect of screening, researchers found a substantially larger benefit. Invitation to screening was associated with a 26 percent reduction in colorectal cancer mortality.

When researchers looked specifically at people who participated in screening, the mortality reduction increased to 43 percent. The results suggest that participation plays an important role in achieving the full benefit of a screening program.

Understanding the Numbers

Colorectal cancer refers to cancer of the colon or rectum.

Mortality reduction means fewer people die from a disease compared with those who were not screened.

Nonadherence refers to individuals who were invited to screening but did not participate.

Contamination bias occurs when people in a comparison group receive the intervention being studied, making differences between groups harder to detect.

What This Means for Patients

The findings reinforce the value of colorectal cancer screening and suggest its impact may be greater than previously recognized. For adults who are eligible, completing recommended stool-based screening tests or other approved screening methods could significantly lower the risk of dying from colorectal cancer.

The researchers conclude that increasing participation in screening programs may be one of the most effective ways to further reduce colorectal cancer deaths.

Learn more about colorectal cancer screenings.

Study: AI Tool Uses Routine ECGs to Help Spot an Often-Missed Heart Disease

Researchers have found that artificial intelligence (AI) may help identify patients with a frequently overlooked heart disease using a standard electrocardiogram (ECG), one of the most common heart tests performed in medical care, according to a new study published in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Assocation).

The condition, called transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM), occurs when abnormal protein deposits build up in the heart muscle. The disease can lead to heart failure and other serious complications. Although effective treatments are now available, ATTR-CM is often diagnosed late, after significant heart damage has already occurred.

Researchers developed an AI system that analyzes routine 12-lead ECG images and flags patients who may benefit from additional testing.

Why Early Detection Matters

ATTR-CM was once thought to be rare, but researchers now believe it is frequently underdiagnosed. The disease can mimic more common heart conditions, making it difficult to recognize.

Diagnosing ATTR-CM typically requires specialized tests, such as nuclear imaging scans or tissue biopsies. These tests can be expensive, invasive, or unavailable in some settings.

Because ECGs are inexpensive and widely used, researchers wanted to know whether AI could identify subtle patterns that are not easily detected by clinicians.

How the Study Worked

The research team trained its AI model using more than 28,000 ECGs from over 11,000 patients within the Yale New Haven Health System. The system was then tested in a separate group of more than 44,000 patients and validated in eight additional cohorts across the United States and Europe.

The external datasets included patients from specialty heart centers, adults with heart failure, and people with a history of carpal tunnel syndrome, a condition that has been linked to an increased risk of ATTR-CM.

What the Researchers Found

In the main validation group, the AI model achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.84. AUROC is a measure of how well a test distinguishes between people with and without a disease. A score of 1.0 represents perfect accuracy, while 0.5 indicates performance no better than chance.

Across eight external populations, AUROC scores ranged from 0.76 to 0.91, suggesting the system maintained good performance in different clinical settings.

The model also worked when analyzing routine ECG images, scanned ECGs, and PDF files, making it potentially easier to deploy in real-world healthcare environments.

Not a Diagnosis, but a Screening Tool

Researchers emphasized that the AI system is not intended to diagnose ATTR-CM on its own. Instead, it could serve as a first screening step to identify people who should undergo further evaluation.

When combined with an AI-assisted echocardiogram, an ultrasound test of the heart, the approach improved the likelihood that a positive result truly represented disease. However, this also increased the risk of missing some cases.

What This Means for Patients

The findings suggest AI-enhanced ECG analysis could help clinicians identify patients who might otherwise go undiagnosed with ATTR-CM. Because ECGs are already part of routine care, the technology may offer a practical way to prioritize patients for more advanced testing.

The authors note that additional prospective studies are needed before the approach can be widely adopted, including research on how it affects patient outcomes and clinical decision-making.