Here’s a confounding fact: At autopsy, “incidental” prostate cancer—small clusters of cancer cells, an apparently latent form of cancer that resides in millions of men—is found in 30 percent of men of every race and culture in the world. In some men, this latent cancer never poses a danger. In others, however, it does.
There are two key statistics: 13 percent of men develop clinically significant prostate cancer at some point in their lives. And 30 percent of men have microscopic, incidental prostate cancer that’s found at autopsy (which means that they lived and died and were never troubled by the cancerous cells in their prostate). The ratio of clinically significant cancer to incidental cancer is 1 to 2.5. So if you have a prostate biopsy and cancer is found, this is what you and your doctor need to find out first—which category are you in? Do you have clinically significant cancer or incidental cancer? And even if your cancer is, at the moment, in the “good” category, remember: Incidental prostate cancer doesn’t always stay that way. Over time, in a significant number of men, this innocent-looking cancer evolves into a more malignant variety which, if not treated, will eventually prove deadly.
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