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Testing Black men for prostate cancer
There is a blood test to screen for prostate cancer. It's called the Prostate Specific Antigen or PSA test. A man gets a baseline test and that allows doctors to follow his PSA levels over time.
ATLANTA - You have probably heard the statistics: 1 in 6 Black men will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime, compared to 1 in 8 men overall.
Black men are twice as likely to die from prostate cancer than white men.
Dr. Jaideep Chaudhary, Ph.D., the interim director of Clark Atlanta Univerity's Center for Cancer Research and Therapeutic Development, says African American men are also diagnosed with prostate cancer at a younger age.
Then, there are the personal stories.
Dexter King, the youngest son of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King, died in January at 62, after a 3-year battle with prostate cancer. Talk show host and civil rights activist Joe Madison lost his long battle with prostate cancer in February. The Radio Hall of Fame member was 74-years old.
"So this, I think, is a wake-up call for all men and particularly African-American men," Chaudhary says.
He says a blood test, known as a PSA, or prostate specific antigen, test can help predict a man's risk of developing prostate cancer, and it can be done as part of the man's yearly checkup.
RELATED STORY: Dexter King's 3-year battle against prostate cancer a reminder to get screened early
"The doctor takes blood to check all your hormones and everything else, you know, your calcium and, you know, creatine and all whatnot," Chaudhary says. "And, PSA is part of that panel. The doctor says, 'You know what, you're 40 to 43, let me just put PSA on that to see what happens.'"
But, there is debate about when men, and in particular Black men, should start getting PSA screenings.
The Prostate Cancer Foundation is pushing for earlier testing, recommending Black men begin baseline PSA testing between the ages of 40 and 45, a decade earlier than the current recommendations for men at average risk.
The research group also recommends Black men with a family history of prostate cancer start yearly PSA screenings as early as 40.
"If there's genetics involved, then you definitely are at a higher risk," Chaudhary explains. "The person is at a higher risk. So, that screening has to start very early."
Current American Cancer Society and US Preventive Services Task Force guidelines recommend men at average risk of prostate start PSA baseline screenings around the age 50 to 55, and men at higher risk, including Black men, start screenings around age 45.
Chaudhary believes screening Black men earlier could save lives.
"Doctors say prostate cancer is treatable and beatable," he says. "If you detect it early, we can treat it early, and we can beat it."