Malignancy of prostrate worries cancer experts

The rising incidence of malignancy of prostrate has worried cancer experts, who believe that if not contained the disease may assume an epidemic form, reports Binod Dubey.

The rising incidence of malignancy of prostrate has worried cancer experts, who believe that if not contained the disease may assume an epidemic form.

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The experts, who were here in connection with a continuing medical education (CME) programme on Tuesday, said that because of the lack of awareness, a lesser-known malignancy had taken a gigantic form.

Head of Department of Urology, King George Medical College (KGMC), Lucknow, Dr Diwakar Dalela said by and large a disease of elderly people, the cancer of prostrate had never posed a problem. “It is a slow growing tumour and can be completely cured, if treated early,” he said, adding that of late an alarming increase in the number of the cases was recorded mainly due to the fact that the disease was grossly underestimated. The cases were generally reported when the cancer had spread its tentacles to other organs of the body, he said.

He said the increased longevity of people was another contributory factor for the high incidence of the disease.

Dr Dalela said that in the early stage of the disease, surgery was the best recourse. However, in the late stage, hormone therapy could be tried. According to him, robot assisted surgery for removal of the infected prostrate gland was producing excellent result.

Dr S C Sharma, head of department of radiotherapy, PGI, Chandigarh, also expressed anxiety over the rising incidence of the disease and said that both the Government private agencies should combine their efforts to combat the menace.

He said that brachytherapy had turned out to be very useful in the treatment of cancer of prostrate. “It is precise, accurate and has the capacity to deliver high load of radiation,” he said.

The organising secretary of the programme, Dr Rajiv Ranjan Prasad, introduced the subject. The CME was organised jointly by the Regional Cancer Centre and the Department of Urology, Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS), Patna.