According to the Mayo Clinic, the prostate is a male gland that produces seminal fluid. Unfortunately, it is prone to the development of cancer. Roughly one in six men will develop prostate cancer, which can be a deadly disease. Fortunately it tends to be slow-growing, so it is curable if detected early. The National Cancer Institute says advances in treatment continue to be made, which means that cure rates are steadily increasing.
One in six men will develop prostate cancer, but most can be cured.
Rates
According to the NCI, about 220,000 men in the U.S. are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year, and 28,000 of them will die because of the disease. The National Institutes of Health says that the overall cure rate for prostate cancer is 99.7 percent, meaning that they survive for at least five years. Naturally, the chances of surviving are affected by the stage at which the cancer is detected. The NIH says that cancer that has not spread has a 100 percent cure rate. If it has moved beyond the prostate, the cure rate can be as low as 30.6 percent, depending on the extent of the problem.
Time Frame
The cure rate for prostate cancer has risen steadily over the years. The NCI says the overall cure rate for prostate cancer in the mid-1970s was 69 percent, compared to the current 99.7 percent rate.
Factors
One of the main factors for this increased success in treating the disease is the development of the PSA blood test, an exam developed in the 1980s that measures a certain protein that is often elevated in men with prostate cancer. The NCI says the test helps doctors diagnose 90 percent of prostate cancers at an early stage, when they are most curable. Advances in chemotherapy, surgery and other treatments are also helping to boost cure rates.
Considerations
Not all men have the same cure rate for prostate cancer. Caucasian males tend to have a much better chance of survival than African-American men. Overall, African-Americans have the lowest cure rate of any ethnicity. According to the NCI, they are twice as likely to die from this cancer as men in other ethic groups. However, the NIH says they still have an overall cure rate of 96.5 percent.
Considerations
Because prostate cancer grows so slowly, the Mayo Clinic says that many men do not need any treatment. Deciding whether to try to cure the disease depends on the man's age. In some older men, the potential side effects of treatment may outweigh the benefits. This is especially true of men with poor overall health who may not respond well to treatment. According to the Mayo Clinic, many older men with prostate cancer live out a natural lifespan without ever having it spread or cause other health issues.
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