Digital rectal examination for prostate cancer is done to identify cancer in healthy men.

What is prostate cancer?

Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that occurs in the prostate (a small walnut-shaped gland) in men that produces the seminal fluid that fosters and transports sperm.

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer amongst men in the United States. Prostate cancer is a common disease, and approximately one in seven men in the United States will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, and 2.8 percent of people will die from prostate cancer itself.

Risk Factors of Prostate Cancer

Factors which can increase the risk of prostate cancer include:

• • Age: The risk of prostate cancer increase with the age
  • Family History: Men who have a family history of prostate cancer in their brother are at higher risk of getting prostate cancer.
  • Race: African American men are at higher risk of getting prostate cancer.
  • Gene Mutation: men who have some gene mutation have more risk of having prostate cancer

Screening of a prostate cancer

The screening for prostate cancer entails a (PSA) blood test and a digital rectal examination (DRE).

Laboratory Testing

A Prostate Specific-Antigen (PSA) is a blood test that gives you a value that tells you your risk of having prostate cancer.  It is recommended for all men ages 55 to 69 to have this test done at least every other year. If you’re younger than 55 it’s recommended to be done based on your history or risk of prostate cancer. Men with a family history of prostate cancer in a first-degree relative like your brother or your father, African-American men, or those with certain gene mutations may be at a higher risk of prostate cancer and should start screening earlier.

Digital rectal exam

The digital rectal exam is somewhat controversial. A study that looked at primary care or family medicine and found that the DRE or digital rectal exam was not useful in finding prostate cancer. However, I think it’s still extremely valuable for a urologist to do a DRE because it helps get a lot of information like getting the prostate size, shape, and texture and to identify changes in it over time. Men come to the urologists’ office for many reasons and many issues can come from the prostate. So, a prostate exam is extremely valuable.