More Barbadian men in their 40s are being diagnosed with prostate cancer and urologist Dr Jerry Emtage is agitating for more frequent use of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test for early diagnosis.
“The disease is getting more aggressive. It is appearing in younger men but we are doing less PSAs” the outspoken and sometimes controversial urologist told the Best Of ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology) Caribbean meeting at Hilton Barbados this week.
He said urologists were now seeing men between 40 and 50 turning up with the disease, “which means that if you decide you will not offer the test at 40, you will miss a lot of these youngsters”.
Emtage said the annual incidence rates for this particular cancer in Barbados were currently among the highest in the world, with Barbados having the most cases per capita.
