Apparently you are confusing the possibility of reducing ALL cancer risk with the possibility of reducing prostate cancer risk specifically.

Stopping all smoking would very probably reduce the overall risk for cancer by something like 50%. However, smoking is a relatively minor risk factor for prostate cancer.

Also the reason that the incidence of prostate cancer hasn’t dropped much in the past 40 years is because we have got so much better at finding it! Even 25 years ago, most of the men who get diagnosed with early stage prostate cancer today wouldn’t have been diagnosed until they had metastatic disease. The incidence of men being diagnosed with metastatic disease is now massively lower than it was 25 years ago. Instead, we are now diagnosing and treating prostate cancer in many men who will probably never actually need treatment.

I suggest you read the material in the section on Risk and Prevention on The “New” Prostate Cancer InfoLink.

I’m sorry but I guess I was not clear in my letter.

I’m not sure what you mean that there’s been extensive research on the potential to prevent prostate cancer. It seems to be agreed that there is a potential to prevent 50% of cancers. But I don’t know of any actual research on that.

If you mean extensive research on the causes of prostate cancer then I certainly agree. So we now know that cancer is caused by additives in food, by household chemicals, by cosmetic chemicals, by pesticides, by close up radiation sources such as cell phones, etc. These facts are pretty well known now.

But it is also fact that the incidence rates of prostate cancer have not been reduced over the last 40 years. So people must be disregarding the proven information that’s available. So what I am suggesting is research on the ACTUAL prevention of cancer. Why all this information on the causes has not had any effect on the actual incidence rates and what might be done to actually prevent cancer.

There has, in fact, been extensive research on the potential to prevent prostate cancer, and it is now clear that drugs like finasteride and dutasteride do effectively prevent prostate cancer in some 25% of the men who take these agents.

It is also clear that better diets, with a higher level of fish, vegetables, and fruit, can also impact risk for prostate cancer (compared to the diets high in fats and red meat that have been common in North America over the past 50+ years).

Do we need more research in this area? Certainly we do.

Cancer agencies say that 50% of cancers can be prevented. How about some research on how to prevent prostate cancer?

:O)

There needs to be more plain talk. More and more, it’s like the PCa community is only talking to itself. Dr. Chodak comes the closest to coming right out and saying it — over-treatment: that even though prostate cancer only kills 3% of men, most men treated for prostate cancer –even early stage prostate cancer — receive a treatment that leaves over half of them with significant ED and/or continence problems.