Prostate cancer in East Asia: evolving trend over the last decade

Abstract

Prostate cancer is now becoming an emerging health priority in East Asia. Most of our current knowledge on Prostate cancer has been generated from studies conducted in Western population; however, there is considerable heterogeneity of Prostate cancer between East and West. In this article, we reviewed epidemiologic trends, risk factors, disease characteristics and management of Prostate cancer in East Asian population over the last decade. Growing evidence from East Asia suggests an important role of genetic and environmental risk factors interactions in the carcinogenesis of Prostate cancer. Exposure to westernized diet and life style and improvement in health care in combination contribute substantially to the increasing epidemic in this region. Diagnostic and treatment guidelines in East Asia are largely based on Western knowledge. Although there is a remarkable improvement in the outcome over the last decade, ample evidence suggests an inneglectable difference in diagnostic accuracy, treatment efficacy and adverse events between different populations. The knowledge from western countries should be calibrated in the Asian setting to provide a better race-based treatment approach. In this review, we intend to reveal the evolving trend of Prostate cancer in the last decade, in order to gain evidence to improve Prostate cancer prevention and control in East Asia.

Figure 1

Prostate cancer standardized incidence in East Asian areas from 1999 to 2010. APC: annual percentage change. ^aindicates statistical significant results.

Figure 2

Age-specific incidence of prostate cancer in East Asian areas and United States. SEER: Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program.

Figure 3

Changing trend of prostate cancer age-specific incidence in Japan from 1999 to 2008.

Figure 4

Prostate cancer standardized mortality in East Asian areas from 1999 to 2010.

Figure 5

Prostate cancer MR: IR (MR divide IR) in East Asian areas from 1999 to 2010. MR: mortality ratio; IR: incidence ratio.

Figure 6

Distribution of disease stage of prostate cancer in Japan from 1993 to 2005.