A recent study has found that men's risk for developing cancer during their lifetimes is set to increase to 1 in 2. Women are also due to receive an increase, from the current 40 percent chance to 44 percent.
The study attributes the finding to people living longer lives than ever before. However, they also note that more people will survive cancer due to better treatments and screening methods. Already, treatment methods and screening measures have doubled the survival outcomes of people affected with cancer.
The cancers in men that are set to improve the most are bowel, prostate, and skin cancers.
Of course, challenges remain. Prostate cancer, for example, is a cancer with a relatively high survival rate. Some prostate cancers are not aggressive or even life-threatening, and some men can live with the condition for the rest of their lives without any problem. However, there is no test currently in place that can reliably spot which prostate tumors need to be aggressively targeted and which not.
Another challenge is to make sure that men are screened when tools are in place. For example, though men are more likely to be affected with bowel cancer, fewer men get screened for the disease. Researchers believe that this is because some men are a bit more fatalistic about cancer than women, even though screening does help. In particular, spotting cancer earlier makes it easier to treat.
Researchers note that living healthily - eating well, working out, drinking in moderation - can help lower individuals' risk for the development of cancer.
The study was conducted in the United Kingdom, so it is unclear whether the findings would also hold true in other countries. The team from the University of London and Cancer Research UK looked at past cancer incidence and mortality rates and extrapolated the findings to the changing population data. By 2027, about 221,000 men will likely be diagnosed with cancer up from 164,000 in 2010. For women, that number will increase to 194,000 from 160,000.