Health: Prostate Cancer, specialists resounding no to preventive surgery - Reuters Press Agency

(ASCA) – Florence, June 10 -” No mass genetic screening and preventive surgery on healthy organs to prevent the emergence of any cancers.” And ‘this is the appeal that launched the company’s experts’ Italian of Oncological Urology (Siuro) during the XXIII National Congress being held in Florence. After the sensational case of Angelina Jolie and manager London and that ‘did remove the prostate healthy to avoid the possible occurrence of a tumor, the uro-oncologists Italian intervene in our country to avoid the risk of dangerous and unnecessary emulations.

” It ‘s true, the latest research – says Giario Conti, President Siuro – have shown that the alteration of DNA repair via miss, the BRCA 2 gene in the male would increase the relative risk of developing tumor of about 9 times than the normal population.

tend tumors due to genetic alterations are more ‘aggressive, more’ fast, and give more ‘easily metastasize. But unlike what happens for breast cancer and ovarian cancer where the odds’ and ‘very high and where there are doctors precise routes, for cancer of the prostate current knowledge are by no means sufficient to ensure the correlation between’ alteration of genes and the onset of cancer.”

Genetic testing is required only for those who have, as a family, several cases of aggressive cancer of the prostrate, ie when there is’ a strong familiarity ‘and you suspect the presence of one of these two genes. Therefore, under these conditions, the usefulness’ of genetic screening mass loses meaning.

” The presence of a genetic abnormality is not the certainty of developing prostate cancer – says Alberto Lapini, Chairman of the XXIII National Congress Siuro – and not in any way justify such a choice ‘which radical and’ removal of the prostate.” So much more ‘, if it’ s true that if the last decade, prostate cancer and ‘the tumor became more’ frequent in the population, at the same time continues to decrease mortality ‘.

In Italy 1 man 16 of age ‘of 50 years and’ at-risk cancer: today there are about 217,000 Italians living with the disease and the number of new ca ses and ‘continues to grow, with a doubling (+ 53%) over the past decade mainly due to the increase of the age ‘population mean. But this type of cancer is not ‘one of the big-killer, and mortality’ and ‘continuing to fall: over 70% of patients survive after 5 years from diagnosis, through increased prevention, new therapies and drugs last generation.

” We must not create alarm and then get caught up in fear – said Conti – each case should be considered individually. The removal of a healthy prostate and ‘incomprehensible and can not be shared. The excess of precaution and ‘harmful and threatens to expose unwanted consequences of any transactions perfectly avoidable.”

red / mpd