Around 1.5 million men worldwide are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year, and this disease ranks among the most common types of cancer in men. The encouraging news is that treatment success rates are very high when the disease is detected at an early stage. Thanks to regular PSA tests and urological check-ups, many patients are diagnosed before the cancer has spread beyond the prostate and are able to benefit from effective treatment.

Prostate cancer, which is particularly common in men over the age of 50, is highly treatable when diagnosed early. Associate Professor Umut Ünal, a urologist at Medline Adana Hospital, emphasised that regular check-ups and awareness are of vital importance in prostate cancer, a condition for which successful outcomes can now be achieved using advanced technologies, and offered warnings and recommendations.

The disease usually progresses silently

Prostate cancer often progresses silently in its early stages. As the disease progresses, symptoms such as frequent urination, waking at night to urinate, difficulty passing urine, blood in the urine or bone pain may arise. However, these symptoms do not always indicate cancer. For a definitive diagnosis, a PSA test, a digital rectal examination and, where necessary, a prostate biopsy are carried out.

Surgical treatment is considered

When the cancer is confined to the prostate, surgical treatment is one of the most effective options. In a procedure known as ‘radical prostatectomy’, the prostate gland and, where necessary, some surrounding tissue are removed. The aim is to completely remove the cancer and improve the patient’s long-term survival chances and quality of life. Today, thanks to advances in surgical techniques, patients’ hospital stays are becoming shorter and their return to daily life is accelerating.

Robotic surgery offers significant advantages

Prostate cancer surgery can be performed using several different methods. In prostate cancer surgeries performed using advanced robotic surgical systems, the surgeon can make highly precise movements under high-resolution three-dimensional imaging. Although commonly known as ‘robot surgery’, it is not a robot that performs the operation, but a specialist surgeon. This robot-assisted method offers significant advantages, such as smaller incisions, less bleeding, reduced pain, a shorter hospital stay and a quicker return to patients’ daily lives. Robotic surgery can also make a significant contribution to the application of nerve-sparing techniques aimed at preserving urinary continence and sexual function.

Lifestyle plays a protective role

Healthy lifestyle habits also play an important role in preventing prostate cancer. Regular exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking and following a Mediterranean-style diet can help reduce the overall risk of cancer. In particular, older men should not delay their check-ups simply because they ‘have no symptoms’. When prostate cancer is detected at an early stage, treatment options increase, surgical success rates rise and patients’ quality of life can be significantly preserved.

What can be done for early diagnosis of prostate cancer?

Screening carried out at the right time, based on individual risk, can be life-saving in the early diagnosis of prostate cancer. For men at average risk (those with no risk factors), screening should begin at the age of 50; for those with a family history of prostate cancer in a first-degree relative (if a father, brother or son has had prostate cancer), at the age of 45, and for men at very high risk (those with a history of prostate cancer in more than one close relative, a strong family history or the presence of certain genetic risk factors) at the age of 40.