About 1 in 8 men in the United States will learn he has prostate cancer at some point in his lifetime. The average age at diagnosis is 67, but about 40% of cases are diagnosed in men younger than 65.
Still, prostate cancer is the most common cancer affecting American men older than age 50, according to Walter Stadler, M.D., F.A.C.P., chief clinical officer and medical oncologist at City of Hope® Cancer Center Chicago.
The disease is also one of the leading causes of death among men in the United States — second only to lung cancer. About 35,000 deaths a year, in fact, are attributed to the disease, Dr. Stadler says.
In the Midwest, prostate cancer is a significant health concern. The region faces challenges in early detection and treatment due to geographic and socioeconomic hurdles, as well as other barriers to care, which may impact outcomes.
In this article, we’ll explore:
- How high are prostate cancer rates in the Midwest?
- The importance of screening for prostate cancer
- Prostate cancer treatment in the Midwest
- The evolution of prostate cancer care
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with cancer and is looking for a second opinion, call us 24/7 at (877) 524-4673.
How High Are Prostate Cancer Rates in the Midwest?
In the United States, rates of prostate cancer are rising, with roughly 314,000 cases diagnosed each year.
“That’s about the equivalent size of five Soldier Fields fully filled,” Dr. Stadler says.
According to the American Cancer Society, the national incidence rate of the disease — based on data from 2017 to 2021 — is 118.3 per 100,000 cases.
Yet in the Midwest, the average incidence rate is higher. For example:
- In Illinois, it’s 122.8.
- In Michigan, it’s 119.8.
- In Wisconsin, it’s 127.6.
- In Minnesota, it’s 122.2.
To break it down further:
Illinois
More than 9,000 cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed each year in Illinois. Cook County, home to Chicago, accounts for nearly 3,500 of those.
Michigan
In Michigan, roughly 7,700 cases of the disease are diagnosed annually. Wayne County alone, which includes Detroit, accounts for about 1,400 cases a year.
Wisconsin
Rates of prostate cancer are rising throughout Wisconsin. The state has nearly 5,000 cases of the disease each year. Milwaukee County, home to Milwaukee — Wisconsin’s most populous city — has nearly 700 annual cases.
Minnesota
Minnesota has just over 4,000 cases of prostate cancer a year. Minnesota’s largest city, Minneapolis, is experiencing climbing rates, with more than 800 cases annually.
The Importance of Screening for Prostate Cancer
Kevin King, M.D., radiation oncologist at City of Hope Cancer Care Downtown Chicago, says he understands some men may be wary of getting screened for prostate cancer because they don’t know what’s involved. But he wants to reassure them that screening is as simple as a blood test.
“We use the blood test for the prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, to detect the cancer early and find it at a stage when it’s most curable,” he says.
That’s critical when prostate cancer often doesn’t cause any symptoms at all.
Dr. King also wants more men to know that even if they believe they’re maintaining their health by going to their primary care provider each year for physicals, they may not be getting screened for prostate cancer unless they specifically request it.
Between 2007 and 2014, the number of prostate cancers diagnosed each year fell sharply. That drop coincided with fewer men getting screened each year because of screening recommendation changes. Since 2014, the incidence rate of prostate cancer has increased by 3% a year.
“The screening guidelines right now are kind of all over the place in terms of who should be screened and when, so it’s important to always ask your doctor about getting screened for prostate cancer,” Dr. King said in a recent appearance with Dr. Stadler on WGN.
“There are about two-thirds of men who should be getting screened between the ages of 50 and 69 who simply don’t get screened either because the doctor doesn’t remember or the patient doesn’t ask,” Dr. Stadler added. “And it’s important to keep in mind that certain people are at a much higher risk for this disease.”
Black men, in particular, are at a greater risk for developing prostate cancer, Dr. Stadler says. They’re also more likely to die of the disease.
Consider the statistics below for the Midwest, for example.
Illinois: Of the 3,500 men diagnosed with prostate cancer each year in Cook County, more than 1,000 of them are Black.
Michigan: About 1,100 of the roughly 7,700 cases of prostate cancer diagnosed in Michigan each year are in Black men. And, in Wayne County, nearly 600 of the 1,400 prostate cancer cases — or a little more than 40% — are in Black men.
Wisconsin: In Wisconsin, about 30% of the 700 cases diagnosed each year in Milwaukee are in Black men.
Minnesota: One hundred of Minneapolis’ 800 annual prostate cancer cases affect Black men.
Prostate Cancer Treatment in the Midwest
Many men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer are surprised to learn that treatment isn’t as invasive as they thought, Dr. King says.
“Sometimes, it’s just a matter of keeping a close eye on it through what we call active surveillance,” he says.
The problem can sometimes be that despite all the advances in prostate cancer treatment and detection in recent years, many patients aren’t able to take advantage of them, especially patients who live in more rural or socioeconomically disadvantaged areas of the Midwest.
“One of the things I hope to do at City of Hope is bring world-class cancer care to patients closer to where they live,” says Dr. Stadler, who recently joined City of Hope after 30 years at the University of Chicago.
In January, the Illinois House of Representatives unanimously passed the Illinois Cancer Patients Bill of Rights, which requires that all Illinois residents with cancer be able to access new and emerging treatments, receive care at advanced care centers and be supported throughout their entire care journey — regardless of their means or background. The resolution was championed by City of Hope.
The Evolution of Prostate Cancer Care
Over the past 60 years, outcomes for men with prostate cancer have dramatically improved, even for men with metastatic disease (cancer that’s spread). That’s thanks to advances in screening, diagnosing and treating the disease.
PSA testing is currently the gold standard for early detection, for example, but it isn’t perfect. Sometimes, PSA tests miss cancer. Other times, they detect cancers that may not need treatment. For that reason, researchers are working on ways to make PSA testing more effective, while also developing new tests based on other types of biomarkers.
Researchers are also implementing new techniques to improve the way prostate cancer is diagnosed along with innovative tools for treating the disease.
Today, multiple treatment options are available for prostate cancer, including robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy, stereotactic radiotherapy and brachytherapy. One notable study, known as the ASCENDE-RT Trial, found that men with high-risk prostate cancer are more likely to have better outcomes if internal radiation (brachytherapy) is added to their external beam radiation therapy, or EBRT (the most commonly used radiation therapy).
Advances in hormone therapy and targeted therapy drugs known as PARP inhibitors for prostate cancer have also made a significant impact, and prostate cancer treatment advances over the past 15-plus years have helped improve patients’ quality of life by reducing the severity of treatment side effects.
At City of Hope, which has multiple locations throughout Illinois, researchers are focusing some of their efforts on following up with prostate cancer survivors to detect and manage long-term side effects and improve their quality of life. They’re also studying how to use natural therapies to help prevent prostate cancer recurrence.
“Not only do we now have great treatments for localized disease, even for patients whose disease has spread, we’re now managing these patients for years if not decades,” Dr. Stadler says. “We expect the majority of these patients to live out their normal lives.”
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with cancer and is looking for a second opinion, call us 24/7 at (877) 524-4673.