Male prevention remains taboo, but early diagnosis can change everything: prostate cancer is curable in most cases
In Italy one man in nine, during his life, receives a diagnosis of prostate cancer. With 41,000 new cases every year, this neoplasm is the most widespread among men and, precisely for this reason, one of the most feared. The good news, however, is that today Prostate cancer is among those with the highest chance of cure: if detected at an early stage, more than 90% of patients can recover or live with the disease long-term.
This is the message sent by Blue Ribbon 2025the national campaign of the Italian League for the Fight against Cancer (LILT) dedicated to cancer prevention in men, presented in Rome with the support of the Ministry of Health. The objective of the campaign is clear: inform, encourage citizens to undergo checks and fight fear and stigma which still keep many men away from clinics today.
The most common disease among men
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Prostate cancer represents more than 20% of all male cancers and mainly strikes after the age of 65. This type of cancer, in its early stages, is often silent: it gives no symptoms and can remain hidden for a long time. It is precisely for this reason that specialists insist on the importance of early diagnosis, through periodic urological visits and tests such as PSA and rectal examination when indicated.
Second Francesco Schittullioncologist and national president of LILT, male prevention is still marked by psychological reticence and false modesty: “Prevention it’s a way of life which starts from awareness. We can’t let fear get in the way of health.”
Screening and new prevention policies
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During the presentation of the campaign, the Minister of Health Orazio Schillaci anticipated that the 2026 budget law provides strengthening cancer screening programs with the aim of expanding access and evaluating the progressive introduction of screening also for some male cancers, including prostate cancer: a step in line with the National Oncology Plan and with the European recommendations which aim to fill the gaps in male prevention and to promote early diagnosis even in the absence of symptoms.
Not just the prostate: tumors not to be ignored
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Alongside prostate cancer, the Blue Ribbon campaign draws attention to two other neoplasms: testicular cancerthe most frequent in men under 45 years of age, with around 2,400 new cases per year and a curability of over 90%, and the penile carcinomararer, but with an average 5-year survival of 74% in case of early diagnosis. The campaign launched in recent days is not limited to raising awareness: until 30 November 2025 all LILT territorial offices will organize visits, information meetings, activities in schools and workplaces, social campaigns and listening spaces to bring prevention closer to daily life.
“Early diagnosis is a real life saver. We can no longer allow fear or shame keep men away from clinics”, underlined the professor Bernardo Roccodirector of the Urology Clinic of the Gemelli Polyclinic.
If prevention is fundamental, it is also very important lifestyle: maintain a adequate weightfollow abalanced nutritiondoing physical activity regularly, abolishing smoking and reducing alcohol consumption are concrete actions that significantly lower the risk of male cancers, he reiterated Giuseppe ToniniFull Professor of Medical Oncology and Director of Medical Oncology at the University Hospital Bio-Medical Campus of Rome.
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