Dr. Gomella on Screening in Prostate Cancer

Leonard Gomella, MD, professor, chair, Department of Urology, director, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center Network, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, encourages early screening for prostate cancer.

The current status of screening for prostate cancer is at a very low level. Only recently have the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines begun to recommend which patients should undergo genetic testing for inherited prostate cancer risk.

Gomella advises that patients not only include prostate, breast, and ovarian cancers, but also melanoma, pancreatic cancer, Lynch syndrome, gastrointestinal tract tumors, and upper tract urothelial tumors in their family history forms. These may all be related to inherited risk for prostate cancer, says Gomella.

Though the exact number of men who have inherited prostate cancer risk is unknown, it is very high. It’s important to identify those men who have increased risk of developing prostate cancer because early screening may be advantageous to these individuals.