Dr. Emberton Addresses Issues in Diagnosing Localized Prostate Cancer

Mark Emberton, MD, FRCS, professor, Interventional Oncology, Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, University College London, clinical director, Clinical Effectiveness Unit, Royal College of Surgeons of England, addresses issues in the diagnosis of localized prostate cancer.

Over the last 40 years, the diagnosis of prostate cancer as a whole has not been reliable, says Emberton. In recent years though, the role of imaging has been established, which provides a location for the clinician to then target. This new understanding of the importance of imaging has exposed the historical deficiencies in localized prostate cancer diagnosis, Emberton explains.

The worst deficiency, according to Emberton, was missed cancers. As needle biopsies do not provide an idea of the entire area like a scan can, some men were given a clear bill of health when they actually had cancer. Additional issues were misdiagnosed cancers and overdiagnosis. Focusing on finding the location of tumors has helped resolve those errors, Emberton states.