Routine check-up reveals De Niro has prostate cancer

Robert De Niro, one of the silver screen's most celebrated actors and the star of films such as Taxi Driver and The Deer Hunter, is suffering from prostate cancer.

De Niro, 60, was told he had the disease after a routine check-up last week. The cancer is in the early stages and is likely to respond to treatment.

As a man who has always guarded his privacy with some vigour, De Niro has ordered details of his treatment, which may involve surgery, to be kept secret. A spokesman said yesterday: "Doctors say the condition was detected at an early stage because of regular check-ups. Because of the early detection and his excellent physical condition, doctors project a full recovery." De Niro plans to fulfil his commitment to start shooting his next film, Hide and Seek for 20th Century Fox, early next year.

The actor joins a long list of public figures who have the disease, which kills more men in the United Kingdom than any other cancer except that affecting the lungs. Other sufferers include Rupert Murdoch, Nelson Mandela, Rudolph Giuliani, Ronald Reagan, and the actors Ian Holm and Charlton Heston.

Born in New York to parents who were both noted artists, De Niro studied at the Actors Studio with Lee Strasberg, where he learnt "method acting". He came to widespread notice in Mean Streets, which also launched the career of fellow New Yorker and director Martin Scorsese. The two went on to forge a remarkable partnership that made several of the most memorable movies of the 1970s and 1980s including Taxi Driver and Raging Bull.

De Niro won the Oscar for best actor for his portrayal of the boxer Jake La Motta in Raging Bull. He received his first Oscar, for best supporting actor, for his portrayal of the young Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II.

He has been nominated four times for Academy Awards without success, for his roles in Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter, Awakenings and Cape Fear. In recent and often less successful films, De Niro has taken to comedy, parodying his gangster roles in Meet the Family and in Analyze This and its sequel, Analyze That, where he played a mobster needing therapy. The films were made by his production company, Tribeca Films.

De Niro funded the Tribeca Film Festival to revive parts of New York still suffering from the 11 September attacks. Last year, he provided finance for We Will Rock You, the West End musical based on the songs of Queen.

The actor has been married twice and has four children, including twin sons born to a surrogate mother during his relationship with Toukie Smith, an actor and restaurateur. He also had a relationship with the model Naomi Campbell.

Prostate cancer, if caught early, is treatable with radiotherapy, hormone therapy and surgery. It causes about9,000 deaths a year in Britain.

The prostate gland, which lies close to the bladder, produces the fluid in semen. Symptoms of cancer include pain or difficulty in passing water, lower back pain and blood in the urine.

Since incidence increases with age, doctors recommend that all men over 50 should have regular checks for prostate enlargement, which can be an indicator of early cancer. There is a national screening service in the United States, where prostate cancer death rates are falling.

No such system exists in the United Kingdom, although there are screening services for breast and cervical cancers.