Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSymptomsCausesScreeningDiagnosisStagesTreatmentComplicationsPreventionOutcomeNext in Prostate Cancer GuideProstate Cancer Staging and Risk Assessment
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Symptoms
Causes
Screening
Diagnosis
Stages
Treatment
Complications
Prevention
Outcome
Next in Prostate Cancer Guide
Found just beneath the bladder in front of the rectum, theprostateis a walnut-sized gland that’s part of themale reproductive system. It produces fluid that contributes to semen. Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in males, with risk factors including advanced age and a family history of the condition.Typically, this cancer spreads slowly, though it can be dangerous if it moves beyond the prostate.
Prostate cancer is categorized into four stages that indicate severity and spread. Stages 1 and 2 are known as localized or early-stage cancer; stage 3 is called locally advanced cancer, and stage 4, or advanced cancer, is the most severe.If identified and treated promptly, most cases of prostate cancer can be effectively managed.
This article will help you understand the causes of this condition, its signs, treatments, and prognosis.
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Prostate Cancer Symptoms: What Are the Signs?
Prostate cancer can be challenging to diagnose in its early stages since it may not cause many symptoms. There can also be considerable variation in how it presents from person to person. Primarily, the symptoms occur when cancerous tumor growth obstructs theurethra(the tube for urine and semen).
Prostate cancer is relatively common. Over their lifetimes, 13% of people assigned male at birth experience it, and 2% to 3% experience fatal cases.
Early Signs of Prostate Cancer
Any sign of prostate cancer warrants medical evaluation. Early signs of prostate cancer include:
Advanced Symptoms
Advanced prostate cancer spreads outside the prostate and affects surrounding organs,bone marrow, or blood. The following are common signs of more progressed cases:
What Causes Prostate Cancer?
Prostate cancer arises when there are changes in the genes of prostate cells. These mutations cause genes that code for cell division (oncogenes) to be more active while hampering others that regulate growth and repair DNA (tumor suppressor genes).As a result, affected cells (malignant, or cancerous, cells) grow uncontrollably and can spread to other body parts. Researchers aren’t exactly sure what triggers this process.
Prostate Cancer Risk Factors
Though all males are susceptible, specific populations are at increased risk for developing prostate cancer. These include:
Prostate Cancer Disproportionately Impacts Black MenBlack men are more likely to develop prostate cancer and are twice as likely to die from the low-grade disease, compared to their white counterparts. This is due to less access to screening, longer delays between diagnosis and treatment, and a lack of diversity in clinical research.
Prostate Cancer Disproportionately Impacts Black Men
Black men are more likely to develop prostate cancer and are twice as likely to die from the low-grade disease, compared to their white counterparts. This is due to less access to screening, longer delays between diagnosis and treatment, and a lack of diversity in clinical research.
Prostate Cancer Screening and Early Detection
Most prostate cancer cases are detected through screening, often before symptoms arise. However, there’s no single test for this condition. Healthcare providers use two tests to screen for prostate cancer: theprostate-specific antigen (PSA)test and the digital rectal exam (DRE), as follows:
People with a prostate between the ages of 55 and 69 should talk to their healthcare provider about screening. Since risks increase and the chances of false-positive results (a test result that inaccurately indicates a disease is present when it is not) rise with age, the harms outweigh the benefits of screening for those 70 or older.People with a family history of prostate cancer or symptoms should be screened.
How Is Prostate Cancer Diagnosed?
If a healthcare provider suspects prostate cancer after the screening, they may use various tests to confirm a diagnosis.
Biopsy
The primary method of prostate cancer diagnosis is aprostate biopsy, which involves harvesting a small sample of prostate tissue. The tissue is sent to a specialist, apathologist, to evaluate it under a microscope and identify cancer cells.
The sample is collected using a specialized probe inserted into the rectum or using a syringe to pierce the perineum, the tissue between the scrotum and rectum.The pathologist will then assess the severity (grade) of the tumor.
Imaging
Sometimes, imaging techniques are used to help the provider target the right area and collect the sample. Such techniques include ultrasound, which relies on sound waves, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) which employs magnets and radio waves, to produce images of the prostate.
Prostate Cancer Stages
Gleason Score
Pathologists useGleason scorescaling to evaluate the severity of the case. Cancer cells appear significantly different from healthy cells, so pathologists evaluate samples based on how much their structure has changed. They’re rated on a scale of 1 (they look healthy) to 5 (cells are cancerous).
Sometimes, pathologists rate the Gleason score out of 10, using the sum of the dominant and secondary patterns seen in the cells. So, for instance, if you primarily score 3, though some areas look like a 4, the two are put together to make 7. You’re considered not to have cancer with scores of 2 to 5, but 6 to 10 indicate an increasing seriousness of cancer risk.
Prostate Cancer Treatment
The specific course of treatment for prostate cancer depends on the severity of the case and can vary from person to person. Approaches taken in early-stage prostate cancer can look different thantherapiesfor when the disease has advanced. Much depends on how the body reacts to the treatment and whether methods yield success.
Treatment for Early Stage Prostate Cancer
Several therapies may be used for prostate cancer stages 1 and 2, when the cancer is localized in the prostate gland, and stage 3, in which it starts spreading in the surrounding area. Early-stage treatments include:
Treatment for Advanced Prostate Cancer
When prostate cancer metastasizes, further treatments are necessary. ADT is typically recommended as a first-line approach to slow the progression of cancer. Other treatments may occur alongside ADT, including:
Types of Prostate Cancer
Complications of Prostate Cancer
If prostate cancer cells access the blood or the lymph nodes (glands associated with immune response), they can spread throughout the body and lead to complications. Severe prostate cancer can cause cancer in the bones, which inhibits red blood cell production. Cancer metastasizing in this way can cause severe bone pain, bone fracture, and bone marrow cancer.
Other complications can arise with prostate cancer. Erectile dysfunction (ED), an inability to achieve or maintain an erection, can be a side effect of surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation treatment. Furthermore, prostate cancer can lead to a loss of bladder control (incontinence).
How to Prevent Prostate Cancer
Specific lifestyle changes and habits can work toprevent prostate cancer from forming. Recommended preventive measures include:
Prostate Cancer Prognosis
The prognosis for prostate cancer depends on many factors, including how much it has spread and your health status. Screening and early treatment have improved the outlook for prostate cancer.
According to the National Cancer Institute, the overall survival rate for this condition five years after diagnosis is 96.8%, which rises to 100% if the condition is detected in its localized stage. However, this number drops considerably for advanced prostate cancer, for which this rate is 32.3%.
Every case of prostate cancer is different, but most people can live well following diagnosis. However, living with this condition can impact your quality of life and your emotional and mental health. Several strategies may help you cope, including:
11 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Who is at risk for prostate cancer?.American Urological Association.What is prostate cancer?.Drudge-Coates L, Oh WK, Tombal B, et al.Recognizing symptom burden in advanced prostate cancer: a global patient and caregiver survey.Clin Genitourin Cancer. 2018;16(2):e411-e419. doi:10.1016/j.clgc.2017.09.015Lillard JW Jr, Moses KA, Mahal BA, George DJ.Racial disparities in Black men with prostate cancer: A literature review.Cancer. 2022;128(21):3787-3795. doi:10.1002/cncr.34433Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.What is screening for prostate cancer?.U.S. Preventative Services.Prostate cancer: screening.National Cancer Institute.Prostate cancer treatment (PDQ): health professional version.American Cancer Society.Prostate Cancer Stages.Dawson NA.Patient education: treatment for advanced prostate cancer: beyond the basics.UpToDate.MedlinePlus.Prostate cancer.National Cancer Institute.Prostate cancer: stat facts.Additional ReadingNational Cancer Institute.Prostate cancer treatment (PDQ): health professional version.U.S. Preventative Services.Prostate cancer: screening.
11 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Who is at risk for prostate cancer?.American Urological Association.What is prostate cancer?.Drudge-Coates L, Oh WK, Tombal B, et al.Recognizing symptom burden in advanced prostate cancer: a global patient and caregiver survey.Clin Genitourin Cancer. 2018;16(2):e411-e419. doi:10.1016/j.clgc.2017.09.015Lillard JW Jr, Moses KA, Mahal BA, George DJ.Racial disparities in Black men with prostate cancer: A literature review.Cancer. 2022;128(21):3787-3795. doi:10.1002/cncr.34433Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.What is screening for prostate cancer?.U.S. Preventative Services.Prostate cancer: screening.National Cancer Institute.Prostate cancer treatment (PDQ): health professional version.American Cancer Society.Prostate Cancer Stages.Dawson NA.Patient education: treatment for advanced prostate cancer: beyond the basics.UpToDate.MedlinePlus.Prostate cancer.National Cancer Institute.Prostate cancer: stat facts.Additional ReadingNational Cancer Institute.Prostate cancer treatment (PDQ): health professional version.U.S. Preventative Services.Prostate cancer: screening.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Who is at risk for prostate cancer?.American Urological Association.What is prostate cancer?.Drudge-Coates L, Oh WK, Tombal B, et al.Recognizing symptom burden in advanced prostate cancer: a global patient and caregiver survey.Clin Genitourin Cancer. 2018;16(2):e411-e419. doi:10.1016/j.clgc.2017.09.015Lillard JW Jr, Moses KA, Mahal BA, George DJ.Racial disparities in Black men with prostate cancer: A literature review.Cancer. 2022;128(21):3787-3795. doi:10.1002/cncr.34433Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.What is screening for prostate cancer?.U.S. Preventative Services.Prostate cancer: screening.National Cancer Institute.Prostate cancer treatment (PDQ): health professional version.American Cancer Society.Prostate Cancer Stages.Dawson NA.Patient education: treatment for advanced prostate cancer: beyond the basics.UpToDate.MedlinePlus.Prostate cancer.National Cancer Institute.Prostate cancer: stat facts.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Who is at risk for prostate cancer?.
American Urological Association.What is prostate cancer?.
Drudge-Coates L, Oh WK, Tombal B, et al.Recognizing symptom burden in advanced prostate cancer: a global patient and caregiver survey.Clin Genitourin Cancer. 2018;16(2):e411-e419. doi:10.1016/j.clgc.2017.09.015
Lillard JW Jr, Moses KA, Mahal BA, George DJ.Racial disparities in Black men with prostate cancer: A literature review.Cancer. 2022;128(21):3787-3795. doi:10.1002/cncr.34433
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.What is screening for prostate cancer?.
U.S. Preventative Services.Prostate cancer: screening.
National Cancer Institute.Prostate cancer treatment (PDQ): health professional version.
American Cancer Society.Prostate Cancer Stages.
Dawson NA.Patient education: treatment for advanced prostate cancer: beyond the basics.UpToDate.
MedlinePlus.Prostate cancer.
National Cancer Institute.Prostate cancer: stat facts.
National Cancer Institute.Prostate cancer treatment (PDQ): health professional version.U.S. Preventative Services.Prostate cancer: screening.
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