Cancer Screening Tests/ That Men must do.

It is always a worries when a close member of your family has been diagnosed with a cancer or pre-cancerous condition, you may think this can be genetically related and may be present in your genes as well. to some extent and in certain cancer this may be true. therefore screening for cancer is encouraged as apart of general health check up particularly in groups having risk factors in their medical history or family.

Many frequent cancers has been studied in depth and in certain cases some biological marker found to have a great value as a screening tool. in some cancers unfortunately there are no such markers and here where a meticulous physician can find out the risk factors asking detailed history from the patient and doing certain test to exclude or confirm the condition. here are our recommendation for certain popular cancer conditions.

1-Lung cancer,

Lung cancer is the most common cause of death from cancer in the Western world. The current medical evidence does not support specific  screening test, however these symptom particularly in smokers can be an invitation for medical screening:

• persistent cough
• blood-stained sputum
• pains in the chest
• shortness of breath
• wheezing. (poor appetite), malaise weight loss.

in which case we recommend the following test:

A• X-rays of chest—the first-line test

B• sputum cytology, which may show cancer cells under the microscope. these test can be followed by a chest CT scan to definitely eliminate lung cancer 

2- Prostate cancer

The benefits of Prostate cancer screening test is to detect early aggressive and potentially life-threatening cancer which can be cured if diagnosed early.

Initial testing involves a blood test for/ prostate-specific antigen (PSA). if high, we recommend an Ultrasound of the prostate, prostate MRI scan to check the nature of the prostate tissue, and if suspicious the doctor may recommend a guided biopsy 

3- Bowel cancer?

Colon Cancer is the second most common cause of death from cancer in the WORLD. The incidence increases greatly after the age of 40 and mainly affects people over 50 years old.

The following are recommended as screening test:

• occult blood testing of the faeces every 2 years
• colonoscopy: ––every 5 years from age 50
• some tumor markers(CEA) are available, but may not yield very high specificity. 

Tumour marker

Tumor markers are substances that are produced by cancer cells or other cells of the body in response to cancer. the following are the most reliable marker in men cancers and can be used to help early diagnose, and follow up some types of cancer

• Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP): may be elevated in  Liver cancer.
• Beta-2-microglobulin (B2M): elevated usually in  Multiple myeloma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia,
• CA19-9: elevated in  Pancreatic cancer, gallbladder cancer, bile duct cancer, and gastric cancer
• Calcitonin: elevated in Medullary thyroid cancer
• Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA): elevated in Colorectal cancer and some other cancers
• Fibrin/fibrinogen: elevated in Bladder cancer.
• PSA: elevated in Prostate cancer
• Thyroglobulin: elevated in Thyroid cancer.

If you have any particular concern about any cancer condition, our team would be happy to answer all your concerns and analyse your case as needed.