• About 27,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year in the UK.
  
  
• It is now the most common cancer in men, having overtaken lung cancer. Prostate cancer kills approx 10,000 men in the UK each year, which is approximately equal to 180 deaths per week, or one death every hour.
  
  
• Over the next decade the incidence has been predicted to rise considerably. This is largely due to a likely increase in numbers of cases diagnosed, through the greater use of PSA tests, and an ageing population.
  
  
• The majority of men with prostate cancer are aged over 60 years.
  
  
• There are numerous ways to screen for prostate cancer. These tests include the Digital Rectal Examination, the PSA test and a Transrectal Needle Biopsy.
  
  
• The method most commonly used to treat prostate cancer varies in different countries. In the US prostatectomy (removal of the prostate) is common. In the UK, both radiotherapy and prostatectomy are widely used.
  
  
• In some cases there can be alternatives to immediate treatment:
  'Watchful waiting' is used for elderly patients whose prostate cancer is likely to progress very slowly and will not be their cause of death. In this instance it is not appropriate for immediate active treatment with its associated side effects.
  'Active surveillance' aims to individualise therapy by selecting only those men with significant cancers for radical treatment. Men who, in the past would have had either surgery or radiotherapy, are closely monitored with frequent PSA tests and with repeat prostate biopsies. The choice between radical treatment or continued observation is based on evidence of progression during this initial monitoring.
  
  New improvements in both surgery and radiotherapy may reduce side-effects and increase effectiveness. Conformal radiotherapy delivers higher, lethal doses of radiation to the tumour while minimising damage to the healthy surrounding tissue and a more sophisticated version of conformal radiotherapy known as intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) is now under development.
  
  
• Brachytherapy using radioactive implants is an alternative to external beam radiation.
  
  
• Both radiotherapy and surgery can result in impotence, although this is more common with surgery (50-80% of patients). Surgery may cause incontinence whereas radiotherapy may cause side effects in the bowel.
  
  
• Little is known about the detailed or molecular mechanism of development of prostate cancer. The cancer genes involved in the development of this disease have not yet been identified.
  
  
• Men with a family history of prostate cancer in a first degree relative are at two to three times increased risk of developing the disease. Several prostate cancer genes have been mapped, and may be responsible for around 20% of familial cases.
  
  
• It has been suggested that selenium and vitamin E in the diet may protect against prostate cancer.
  

• The PSA test (Prostate Specific Antigen), together with other tests, can be used to screen for early prostate cancer. PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) is a protein made by the prostate gland, which leaks into the bloodstream naturally. Sometimes a raised PSA level can be a sign of prostate cancer. More often, it is caused by something less serious like an inflamed prostate (prostatitis) or an enlargement of the prostate that comes with ageing (benign prostatic hypertrophy). A single PSA test cannot show you whether a prostate cancer is present, or whether it is slow or fast growing.
  
  
• At most, one in 14 men diagnosed with early prostate cancer following a positive PSA test will be expected to die from this disease
  
  
• There is controversy over whether PSA testing should be used in routine screening for prostate cancer. Many medical professionals feel it will be wrong to introduce national screening in this country because the effectiveness of screening is unproven and the side effects of treatment can be harsh. The NHS decided not to introduce national PSA testing in March 1997, because no research is yet available to demonstrate whether or not there is any improvement in mortality. However, in the USA many men have regular PSA tests from the age of 50.
  
  
• Men are advised to visit their doctor if they experience any symptoms of early prostate cancer such as difficulty in passing urine.