Prostate Cancer
[ Symptoms ] [ Risks And Early Detection ]
[ Cancer Stages ] [ Treatment Advances ]
Except for skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common malignancy in American men. It's estimated that in 1998, nearly 185,000 American men will be diagnosed with the disease.
In the majority of men, the cancer is very slow growing. Many of these men won't die of the prostate cancer, but will live with it until they eventually die of some other cause. Early prostate cancer is localized (confined) to the gland, and the majority of patients with localized prostate cancer have a long survival after diagnosis.
Symptoms of prostate cancer can overlap with symptoms of infections or prostate enlargement, according to the American Cancer Society. But men who experience any of the following should visit a doctor immediately.
The signs include:
As men age, their risk of prostate cancer increases. Over 80 percent of all cases occur in men over age 65, according to the American Cancer Society. African-Americans have the world's highest rate of prostate cancer.
When should you start looking for signs of prostate cancer? Every man age 40 or older is advised to have a digital rectal exam as part of his annual physical. Also, the American Cancer Society recommends an additional test -- the prostate-specific antigen blood test -- for men age 50 and older.
Prostate cancer is characterized by both grade and by stage, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Grade is a term used to describe how closely a tumor resembles normal tissue. Based on the microscopic appearance of a tumor, pathologists may describe it as low-, medium-, or high-grade cancer.
One way of grading prostate cancer, called the Gleason system, uses scores of 2 to 10. Another system uses G1 through G4. The higher the score, the higher the grade of the tumor. High-grade tumors grow more quickly and are more likely to spread than low-grade tumors. "Staging" of prostate cancer determines the site and location of the disease.
Early prostate cancer, in stages 1 and 2, is localized to the prostate gland. Stage 3 prostate cancer is locally advanced outside the gland. Stage 4 prostate cancer has spread to other organs or tissues, according to the NCI.
In the last few years, research has led to more types of treatment for prostate cancer. These include blocking cancer-inducing hormones from the prostate; destroying a small tumor by freezing it; and using an emerging technique of implanting tiny radioactive pellets directly into the prostate to deliver high doses of radiation to the tumor.
In addition, many studies are under way to evaluate compounds, such as retinoids and finasteride, that could lead to better ways to control or even prevent the disease.
Five-year survival rates have increased for all stages of prostate cancer over the past 30 years to 87 percent. Rates start to drop after five years, with 51 percent of patients surviving 15 years after diagnosis, according to the American Cancer Society.
More Information:
Symptoms
Risk Factors and Detection
What Does The Diagnosis Mean?
Treatment Advances
Treatment options usually include surgery, radiation therapy, hormone therapy and chemotherapy, or a combination of these.
What About Survival Rates?
Nearly 60 percent of all prostate cancers are caught before they spread. In these cases, 99 percent of patients survive five years after diagnosis.
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