Digital rectal exam

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Indications — Prostate Cancer is the most common cancer in men in the United States. Prostate cancer forms in the prostate gland, and can sometimes be felt on digital rectal examination. This is one of the purposes of the digital rectal exam.

Last reviewed October 13, 2023 by Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Clinical Professor, Department of Family Medicine, UW Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team..

Related specialties

Family Medicine
Gastroenterology

News and Patient Stories: Digital rectal exam

Prostate cancer treatment is not always the best option – a cancer researcher walks her father through his diagnosis

August 11, 2023

“Me encontraron càncer en la pròstata,” my father told me. They found cancer in my prostate. As a cancer researcher who knows very well about the high…

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Because of disparities in access to screening and treatment, African American men are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. FG Trade/E+ via Getty Images