Prostate cancer is now the most frequently diagnosed cancer in men in 112 countries and the leading cause of cancer death among men in 48 countries. There will be almost three million new cases of prostate cancer a year by 2040 and the mortality rate will rise by 85%. The statistics are not just alarming they are also unacceptable.

UK based charity, Global Action on Men’s Health (GAMH), is calling on the World Health Organization (WHO) to introduce measures that cover every stage of the prostate cancer pathway, “from prevention to palliative care”.

Prostate cancer is currently inadequately addressed in global and national cancer policies. As a result, too many men are ill-informed about the disease, not enough is known about how it can be prevented, it is too often diagnosed too late, men cannot access the services they need, and men at greater risk of prostate cancer (including Black men and men with a family history of the disease) are not well-served.

Unlike many other cancers, it cannot be prevented and in its early stages, the disease has no symptoms that could enable early detection. And, if it is detected at an advanced stage, the 5-year survival rate can be as low as 30%. PSA testing combined with MRI scanning and risk assessment reduces the risk of overdiagnosis and can reduce deaths by 35%. The identification of low (and some intermediate) risk cancers allows safe monitoring, known as Active Surveillance, that minimizes overtreatment.

With political will and commitment based on a recognition that men’s cancer outcomes matter, the prospects for millions of men – and, of course, their families – could be transformed by a new Global Prostate Cancer Initiative.