Prostate Cancer: Introduction
Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men. Pharmacists not only monitor drug side effects, interactions, and adherence but also prevent complications of chemotherapy and guide palliative care.
Pharmacists have an important role in the treatment of patients who have prostate cancer. Monitoring patients for adverse effects of drug therapy, drug/disease interactions, adherence (particularly with hormone therapy), preventing complications from chemotherapy, and guiding palliative care are common areas that pharmacists address in the care of patients with prostate cancer. Prostate cancer patients require special focus on the areas of pain, anti-infective therapy, depression, and anxiety. Through these types of interventions pharmacists can ensure that their patients receive the most effective therapy with the least complications.
Prostate cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in men in the United States and Canada (after skin cancer) and accounts for 33% of all new cancer cases diagnosed. It is also the second leading cause of cancer death in men and is predicted to result in 10% of all cancer deaths in the year 2003. It is estimated that this year 220,900 new cases of prostate cancer will occur in the US, with 28,900 deaths. Although a significant increase in the incidence of prostate cancer during the late 1980s and early 1990s has been attributed to accessibility of screening tests for prostate specific antigen (PSA), the incidence was rising prior to that time. Currently, the incidence of prostate cancer is on a downward trend. The prevalence of prostate cancer is highest in the United States and Scandinavian countries. Asian countries have the lowest incidence of prostate cancer, while the highest incidence and mortality rates are in African-American men.