The REAL Guide to Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the prostate. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system located just below the bladder (the organ that collects and empties urine) and in front of the rectum (the lower part of the intestine). It is about the size of a walnut and surrounds part of the urethra (the tube that empties urine from the bladder). The prostate gland produces fluid that makes up part of semen. Prostate cancer is found mainly in older men. As men age, the prostate may get bigger and block the urethra or bladder. This may cause difficult urination or problems with sexual function.What is prostate cancer?
Prostate cancer is a common type of cancer in men that starts in the prostate gland (a collection of male sex glands encased as one walnut-sized organ).The prostate gland is located just below the bladder (the organ that collects and empties urine) and surrounds the urethra (the tube that carries urine from the bladder through the penis). The prostate produces fluid that becomes part of the semen and helps to control the rate and flow of urination.
Prostate cancer occurs when cells within the prostate glands begin to grow and divide abnormally. If left untreated, the cancer will gradually spread to surrounding tissues (this spreading process is called metastasis) — first, to the lymph nodes, which drain the prostate and then to the bones, usually the spine and ribs.
Prostate cancer generally develops very slowly, although it can grow quickly and spread to other parts of the body. If the cancer is found before it has spread outside the prostate, the survival rate is excellent. The survival rate decreases if the cancer has spread to tissues surrounding the prostate or to elsewhere in the body.
What Causes Prostate Cancer?
The cause of prostate cancer is unknown, but the cancer is thought not to be related to benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH). The risk (predisposing) factors for prostate cancer include advancing age, genetics (heredity), hormonal influences, and such environmental factors as toxins, chemicals, and industrial products.The chances of developing prostate cancer increase with age. Thus, prostate cancer under age 40 is extremely rare, while it is common in men older than 80 years of age. As a matter of fact, some studies have suggested that among men over 80, between 50 and 80 percent of them may have prostate cancer!
Genetics (heredity), as just mentioned, plays a role in the risk of developing a prostate cancer. For example, black American men have a higher risk of getting prostate cancer than do Japanese or white American men.
Environment, diet, and other unknown factors, however, can modify such genetic predispositions. For example, prostate cancer is uncommon in Japanese men living in their native Japan. However, when these men move to the United States, their incidence of prostate cancer rises significantly. Prostate cancer is also more common among family members of individuals with prostate cancer. Thus, a person whose father, grandfather, or even uncle has prostate cancer is at an increased risk for also developing prostate cancer. To date, however, no specific prostate cancer gene has been identified and verified.
Testosterone, the male hormone, directly stimulates the growth of both normal prostate tissue and prostate cancer cells. Not surprisingly, therefore, this hormone is thought to be involved in the development and growth of prostate cancer. The important implication of the role of this hormone is that decreasing the level of testosterone should be (and usually is) effective in inhibiting the growth of prostate cancer.
Symptoms of Prostate Cancer
Many men with early prostate cancer have no symptoms, and occasionally even men with quite advanced tumors have no symptoms of disease. When symptoms occur they can be related to growth of the prostate causing urinary symptoms such as:Frequency of urination particularly at night
Difficulty or delay in starting urination, or delay in emptying the bladder
Blood in the urine or urinary infection
Prostate cancer may also effect a man's ability to have intercourse and cause:
Erectile dysfunction (loss of or diminished erections)
Blood in the seminal fluid
Painful ejaculation
It must be emphasized that in most cases these symptoms are not caused by prostate cancer. Many of these symptoms can also occur with benign enlargement of the prostate (BPH), urinary infections or other medical conditions such as diabetes. Though, there are no symptoms unique to prostate cancer, a man with these symptoms should see his doctor to allow appropriate and timely investigations and treatment to take place.
Advanced prostate cancer may cause:
Pain the in the lower back, pelvic area, or upper thighs
Sudden inability to pass urine which is usually painless
Weakness or inability to move legs (and rarely arms), often associated with numbness
Severe bone pain
These symptoms can also be caused by conditions such as arthritis, lumbar disc disease and other types of tumors. Nevertheless anyone experiencing these latter complaints should seek immediate medical attention.
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Treatment Choices for Prostate Cancer
Current treatment methods include:Urologic surgery, including a new nerve identification device that minimizes the risk of post-surgical impotence
Radiation oncology, including radioactive "seeds," or brachytherapy, neutron therapy, high-dose conformal radiotherapy, and intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) are options that allow physicians to more precisely target the cancer
Medical oncology, including hormone therapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, new drugs, and vaccines.
Radiation treatment of prostate cancer is one of the preferred ways of managing localized prostate cancer. At the time that a patient is first diagnosed with prostate cancer, a number of tests are performed to determine whether the tumor appears to be localized to the prostate or to have spread beyond the prostate. These studies may include ultrasound imaging of the prostate, CAT scans of the pelvis, or bone scans.
Once it is determined that the prostate cancer appears localized, treatment may involve the implantation of radioactive pellets into the prostate, a procedure referred to as "prostate brachytherapy." Alternately, treatment may be delivered using a series of outpatient X-ray treatments. This latter approach focuses multiple radiation beams on the prostate, contouring the dose to the tumor and avoiding adjacent normal tissues and organs. This type of treatment is also referred to as intensity modulated or "IMRT." There are clinical situations when it may be desirable to use a combination of external beam radiation as well as a prostate seed implant for specific patients. Additionally, there are times when it is advantageous to combine hormonal treatment with radiation
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Y! Health Prostate Cancer News
- Vitamin C, E Supplements Won't Help Prevent Cancer (HealthDay)
HealthDay - SUNDAY, Nov. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Coming on the heels of two studies discounting the usefulness of vitamin B, folic acid, vitamin D and calcium supplements for cancer prevention, U.S. researchers report that vitamins C and E supplements won't help prevent cancer, either. - Diabetes drugs tied to lower prostate cancer risk (Reuters)
Reuters - Drugs used to control diabetes may lower the risk of prostate cancer, investigators at the University of Tampere in Finland report. - Gene Screen Might Predict Prostate Cancer (HealthDay)
HealthDay - MONDAY, Nov. 17 (HealthDay News) -- Doctors may someday be able to use five genetic markers to assess whether a man is at high risk to develop prostate cancer, a new study suggests. - Aspirin may mask prostate cancer, study hints (Reuters)
Reuters - Middle-aged men who take aspirin or other "nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug" (NSAID) have significantly lower levels of a blood protein used to spot prostate cancer than men who don't take these widely used drugs, a study shows. - Embryo preservation often works for cancer patients (Reuters)
Reuters - Freezing embryos before undergoing cancer treatment that may cause infertility is as successful for women with cancer as it is for women without cancer, new study findings indicate. - Agent Orange exposure linked to prostate cancer (Reuters)
Reuters - A study of Vietnam War era veterans shows that exposure to Agent Orange is associated with more than a two-fold increased risk of prostate cancer, earlier disease onset, and prostate cancer with more aggressive features. - Statins Lower Blood Marker for Prostate Cancer (HealthDay)
HealthDay - THURSDAY, Oct. 30 (HealthDay News) -- A new study shows that men who take cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins have lower blood levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a biomarker for prostate cancer risk. - Major Study of Supplements and Prostate Cancer Halted (American Cancer Society)
American Cancer Society - The National Cancer Institute has stopped a major clinical trial studying whether vitamin E and selenium can prevent prostate cancer because early analysis suggests the supplements don't work. What's more, there is some evidence that they may actually be harmful. - Statins cut key indicator of prostate cancer: study (Reuters)
Reuters - Cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins modestly reduce levels of a protein in a man's blood that doctors often use to screen for prostate cancer, researchers said on Tuesday. - NCI: No prostate benefit from vitamin E, selenium (AP)
AP - The government is stopping part of a major study of whether vitamin E and selenium prevent prostate cancer — because the supplements aren't working and there's a hint of risk.
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