Prostate cancer 3rd most common in S'pore

Prostate cancer has climbed from being the fifth to the third most-common cancer among men in Singapore in just five years - although the survival chances are also higher if it is detected early.

More than 500 men are diagnosed with this killer disease each year, compared to fewer than 20 a year four decades ago.

With roughly one out of 37 men contracting the ailment, it is not surprising that the number of deaths has also risen, and now stands at more than 100 a year.

But the National Registry of Diseases Office, which produced an information paper on prostate cancer this week, said that early detection and better treatments available today mean improved chances of survival.

Over the past four decades, the chances of surviving prostate cancer have more than doubled - from 40 per cent in the late 1970s to 85 per cent for the 2003 to 2007 period.

Cancer information is collected in five-year blocks.