British actor Ian McKellen has assured fans he is doing well in his ongoing battle with prostate cancer.

Most prostate cancers found by PSA screening are slow-growing and not life-threatening, she explained. Genetics plays a major role, as five to ten percent of the prostate cancer cases are believed to be inherited.

“Future research should focus on prostate cancer screening paradigms that both minimize harms and maximize the potential benefits of screening, as well as accounting for individual patient risk factors and preferences.”

Experts suggest that it is very important for men to know where they stand with prostate cancer. These techniques may need to be taken into account in modifying the guideline, said Dr. Anthony D’Amico, chief of genitourinary radiation oncology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

Prostate cancer diagnoses at all risk levels fell, though new diagnoses of nonlocalized disease did not change.

In October 2011, the USPSTF recommended against routine screening for prostate cancer using the PSA test. Prior to this, the USPSTF had already recommended against routine PSA screening in men older than 75 years, but the new guidelines extended it to all men.

Dr. Barocas concluded, “While some of the effects of this guideline may be beneficial in terms of reducing harms of over diagnosis and overtreatment, the reduction in intermediate and high-risk cancer diagnoses raises concern for delayed diagnoses of important cancers associated with inferior cancer outcomes”.

“Our data go to 2012, so it’s really only a year since the guideline was issued”. It also showed a 26.0 percent drop among infirm men, who, along with the elderly, are at risk to be harmed by treatment before they experience any benefits of early detection.

The number of new prostate cancer cases diagnosed before and after the USPSTF recommendation were compared against a similar record of colon cancer findings.

The investigators noticed a drop in prostate cancer cases by 12 percent in the following month after the USPSTF guidelines came into effect. By increasing the visibility of the “Light it Blue” campaign, Blue Cure Foundation is working to start conversations early on with young men on prevention through healthy lifestyle choices, and honoring those we’ve lost, along with the 2.9 million American survivors.