prof. Dr. Nedime Serakıncı: The biggest obstacle to early diagnosis of prostate cancer is the avoidance of prostate examination, almost like a taboo.

Presidential Health Advisor Prof. Dr. Nedime Serakıncı made evaluations about prostate cancer, one of the most common cancer types in men, its causes and treatment during 1-31 March Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, also known as the Blue Moon.

Known for his worldwide work that enables early detection of prostate cancer, Prof. Dr. Nedime Serakıncı pointed out that the most common types of cancer in men are lung cancer, prostate cancer and colorectal cancer.

Saying, “Prostate cancer corresponds to almost 41.9 percent of all cancers,” Serakıncı noted that patients with prostate problems usually consult a doctor in a delayed manner, which causes this rate to reach a higher and life-threatening point.

Answering the questions of the Turkish Agency Cyprus (TAK), Serakıncı said, “One of the most important reasons for late application is avoidance of prostate examination, almost like a taboo.”

– Things to consider about prostate

“Well, what should men pay attention to to suspect prostate and consult a doctor?”

Serakıncı states that those who have the following experiences should consult a doctor:

“The need to urinate more often than usual, often during the night; The need to almost run to the toilet when it is noticed that he has urine; Difficulty starting to urinate; The need to strain or take a long time to urinate; poor flow of urine; cessation of urine; A feeling that your bladder is not completely empty; “Blood in the urine or blood in the semen”

– Is prostate cancer genetic? Or does it depend on your living habits?

Expressing that both genetic factors and lifestyle can be effective for prostate cancer, as in many cancers, Prof. Dr. Serakıncı pointed out that prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer that develops in the prostate gland. “Normally, prostate cancer grows slowly. However, in some cases, it can grow relatively quickly and may not show any symptoms at the onset of the disease.

Serakıncı also listed the factors that may increase a man’s risk of developing prostate cancer as follows:

“Age; Heredity (family history), genetic factors are important. The risk is doubled, especially in first-degree family members (brother rather than father); Race; Obesity; Inflammation (non-microbial inflammation); Hormones; metabolic syndromes; Vitamins and fatty acids; Cigarette; Excessive alcohol consumption; lack of exercise; familial hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) syndrome; Frequent prostatitis; ie infection or inflammation of the prostate gland; sexually transmitted infections, syphilis, gonorrhea or chlamydia;

Nedime Serakıncı said, “If we reduce it to one sentence, we can count being overweight, inactivity and high cigarette/alcohol consumption”, and added that in addition to the above factors, men are more likely to encounter carcinogens through auto body and factory work than women due to occupational reasons.

“In biological and genetic factors, having prostate and breast cancer in first-degree relatives also shows genetic predisposition,” said Serakıncı, adding, “High testosterone levels can support cell growth, which is one of the biological factors. Being taller than average in general has also been shown to contribute to cancer susceptibility. “Other biological effects that may influence cancer susceptibility may be related to differences in immune response as well as chromosomal differences.”

prof. Dr. Serakıncı said, “Another important factor is that men are less likely to seek medical help unless there is a significant cause for concern such as pain or other more obvious symptoms. Unfortunately, this type of behavior also makes it easier to miss the early signs of cancer.”

– What can men do to reduce their risk of prostate cancer?

prof. Dr. Serakıncı also touched upon the points to be considered in order to reduce the risk of prostate cancer. Serakıncı summarized the changes in your lifestyle as follows:

“Improve Your Diet. Try to stay away from obesity and weight gain. Take care to maintain a healthy weight that is suitable for you and acquire nutritional habits for this; exercise regularly

– Do not smoke at all, if you do, quit; Check vitamin D levels and increase to normal range if low; Try to stay sexually active;

-Which age group men, in which time interval, what kind of control should they do?

Emphasizing the importance of early diagnosis in prostate cancer, Prof.Dr. Nedime Serakıncı said, “Prostate cancer screening aims to detect prostate cancers in the early stages, especially in the asymptomatic period and before they metastasize, and to reduce mortality rates.”

“When should you start prostate cancer screening?” Noting that the answer to the question depends on many factors, including the person’s age and family history, Serakıncı continued his words as follows:

“It is recommended for men between the ages of 55 and 69, in line with the consensus decision of the American Urological Association on the harms and benefits of PSA-based screening. Routine PSA-based screening is not recommended for men outside this age range. However, the European Association of Urology recommends PSA testing at certain intervals in the 40s.

The PSA test is a blood test that measures how much of a certain protein (called prostate-specific antigen) is in your blood. Today, although it is known that PSA does not provide as sensitive information as we would like, unfortunately it is the most appropriate test available and has been the standard for prostate cancer screening for 30 years. Therefore, your doctor will consider many factors before recommending when to start prostate cancer screening. And he’ll probably start by recommending the PSA test. While the general approach recommends starting at age 55, you may need PSA screening between the ages of 40 and 54 if:

“Have at least one first-degree relative (such as a father or brother) with prostate cancer; Having at least two extended family members with prostate cancer; Coming from African-American descent, an ethnicity with a higher risk of developing more aggressive cancers; Having a family history of prostate cancer and breast cancer in more than 2 individuals in first-degree relatives”

Noting that the age range between 55 and 69 years is the age range where men will benefit most from screening for prostate cancer, Serakıncı said, “Considering that today’s life is getting longer, the probability of having prostate cancer has increased considerably. For this reason, it is important to undergo a doctor’s control along with the PSA test. Some prostate cancers are more aggressive. Others may grow slowly. Doctors will consider your age and other factors before weighing the risks and benefits of treatment.

“You should ask your doctor how often he recommends getting screened,” said Serakıncı, adding that for most men, screening every two to three years may be sufficient. “Depending on the results of your initial PSA test, your doctor may recommend fewer (or more) screenings. Depending on the result of the PSA test, doctors will consider your age and the size of your prostate when determining what your PSA score means.

Serakinci continued:

“In general, for men in their 40s and 50s: A PSA score greater than 2.5 ng/ml is considered abnormal. The median PSA for this age range is 0.6 to 0.7 ng/ml. For men in their 60s: A PSA score greater than 4.0 ng/ml is considered abnormal. The normal range is between 1.0 and 1.5 ng/ml. A PSA score that rises by a certain amount in one year may also be considered abnormal. For example, if your score rises by more than 0.35 ng/ml in one year, your doctor may recommend more testing.

To summarize; Most men without prostate cancer have blood PSA levels below 4 ng/mL. Men with a PSA level between 4 and 10 (often referred to as the “border range”) have about a 1 in 4 chance of developing prostate cancer. If the PSA is over 10, the chance of getting prostate cancer is over 50%.

After an abnormal PSA Test, your doctor may recommend repeating the PSA test in the first place. If your levels are still high, your doctor may recommend one of the newer prostate cancer screening tests available today. These tests can help you better assess your risk of prostate cancer and determine if a biopsy is needed. Only a prostate biopsy can definitively diagnose prostate cancer.”

– “Our study, which will enable the early diagnosis of prostate cancer, attracts attention all over the world”

Emphasizing that men usually do not go to their doctor’s checkups without advanced symptoms, Prof. Dr. Serakıncı also emphasized that a number of new treatments and biomarkers are needed for a realistic, achievable target to discover whether cancer can be treated by controlling it, without missing possible treatment based on early diagnosis. Saying, “For example, there are delays due to the lack of specificity of the markers used in the diagnosis or the avoidance of taboo due to the way of examination,” said Serakıncı, and that they aim to identify new biomarkers that can overcome these problems and turn cancer into a chronic manageable disease. He also stated that his work is in this direction.

Serakıncı continued his words about his work as follows:

“In the first part of the study, we showed that this is possible in our study with my doctoral student Eyyup Kavalcı. This study has two important findings. First, we showed that prostate cancer cells can be obtained in the urine. Secondly, we have demonstrated that we can screen the prostate cancer susceptibility gene with known genetic mutations belonging to the person and prostate cancer from the cells obtained, with sufficient sensitivity.

In the second and new phase of the said study, which is still ongoing, Serakıncı said that they continue to identify non-invasive screening tools and diagnostic biomarkers by ‘doing more comprehensive genome scanning, and as a result, it is cost-effective, reliable, and can be easily applied to any patient/person in any laboratory. underlined that they are in the process of developing a special risk assessment approach.

Stating that the first stage of the study was published and received a great acceptance in the scientific world, Prof. Dr. Serakıncı stated that they are currently preparing to announce the results of the second phase and that the infrastructure of the third phase has been completed while preparing for scientific publication.