Advanced prostate cancer cases are rising sharply in California, outpacing national trends, according to a new study from UCSF. The alarming trend underscores the need for smarter screening to catch aggressive cases early without simultaneously triggering care for harmless tumors, experts said. "This rise is happening across all ages, ethnicities and regions in California," said Erin Van Blarigan, a UCSF epidemiologist and the study's lead author. Researchers found that between 2011 and 2021, the number of men diagnosed with late-stage prostate cancer increased by 6.7% per year in California " significantly higher than the national rate of 4.5% per year over roughly the same period. The study, published last week in JAMA Network Open, also found that after years of decline, prostate cancer mortality rates have stalled in much of the state.