For 2025, the American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates 314,000 new prostate cancer cases and 317,000 for breast cancer, only a +3,000 difference for breast cancer. In 2020, ACS estimates showed a +84,000 difference for breast cancer over prostate cancer. New cases of prostate cancer are increasing faster than any other type of major cancer. This creates a challenge for the early detection of prostate cancer, where the US Preventive Services Task Force’s (USPSTF) prostate cancer screening recommendations in 2012 virtually sidelined primary care providers as the first line of defense for prostate cancer. A major void in the first line of defense still exists following its 2018 recommendation.
This session will address the critical role that early detection screening must play in escalating prostate cancer cases. It will examine the question of how the primary care void is to be filled. It will also review a current screening guideline that balances addressing the needs of men at high risk for prostate cancer (Black men, those with a family history, and men with certain genetic mutations), and the needs of men at average risk for the disease.
