Japan emperor's prostate surgery highlights trend

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By George Nishiyama

TOKYO (Reuters) - Emperor Akihito, who entered hospital for prostate surgery on Thursday, joins a growing group of Japanese men suffering from a disease that is still far more common in Western countries.

Akihito, 69, will undergo surgery on Saturday to remove his prostate gland after initial tests showed that the cancer had not spread.

Prostate cancer is already the number-two cause of death among male cancer patients in the United States after lung cancer, but ranks only ninth in Japan, where it accounts for only four percent of such deaths compared to 20 percent in the West.

Health Ministry data show 7,645 Japanese men died of the disease in 2001. Lung cancer claimed the lives of 39,904 men.

But the number of deaths from the disease has quadrupled over the past 20 years and looks set to grow in coming years due to an increasingly Westernised diet with more animal fat and protein that Japan's traditional menu of rice and fish, doctors said.

"We think that by 2015, it will be triple of what it was in 1995," said Akira Kimura, a surgeon at the department of urology at Tokyo Kyosai Hospital.

Japan's rapidly ageing population also means more men are likely to develop the disease, said Kiyoki Okada, a professor of urology at Nihon University, who has treated over a thousand prostate cancer patients.

The disease typically affects older men, with over 90 percent of patients in their 60s and older.

If found in its early stages, chances of survival are very high, doctors said, adding that the fact the emperor would undergo surgery indicated the cancer had not spread and was likely to be cured completely.

"If the cancer is contained within the prostate gland, then the best option is a prostatectomy," said Okada, who has conducted about 350 similar operations.

"I think the doctors' decision is the right one."

Hormone treatment is more common in cases where the cancer has progressed, Tokyo Kyosai Hospital's Kimura said.

Akihito's operation is expected to take about three hours and he will remain in hospital for about a month. He will then recuperate at the palace for an extended period while his son, Crown Prince Naruhito, handles official imperial duties.

"For a 69-year-old man going through this operation, his chances of being alive ten years from now are about 80 percent. That is no different from a healthy person. The operation doesn't affect his longevity," Kimura said.

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