Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men. Due to routine screening of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in the United States, nearly 90% of prostate cancers get detected in early stages. When found early, there are several treatment options available and prostate cancer has a high chance of getting cured. Read more: Can Prostate Cancer Be Completely Cured? Article
Multimedia: Slideshows, Images & Quizzes
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Signs of Prostate Cancer: Symptoms, PSA Test, Treatments
What is prostate cancer? Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. Learn the signs and symptoms of prostate cancer, along...
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Prostate Cancer Quiz
Is prostate cancer the most common cancer in men? Take this prostate cancer quiz to find out and learn the causes, symptoms, and...
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Prostate Illustrion Browse through our medical image collection to see illustrations of human anatomy and physiology See ImagesRelated Disease Conditions
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What Are the 5 Warning Signs of Prostate Cancer?
Prostate cancer rarely produces symptoms in the early stage; however, few signs can help in detecting prostate cancer.
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Pregnancy (Week by Week, Trimesters)
Signs and symptoms of pregnancy vary by stage (trimester). The earliest pregnancy symptom is typically a missed period, but others include breast swelling and tenderness, nausea and sometimes vomiting, fatigue, and bloating. Second trimester symptoms include backache, weight gain, itching, and possible stretch marks. Third trimester symptoms are additional weight gain, heartburn, hemorrhoids, swelling of the ankles, fingers, and face, breast tenderness, and trouble sleeping. Eating a healthy diet, getting a moderate amount of exercise, also are recommended for a healthy pregnancy. Information about the week by week growth of your baby in the womb are provided.
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Prostate Cancer Staging and Survival Rates
The prognosis for prostate cancer, as with any cancer, depends on how advanced the cancer has become, according to established stage designations. The patient's PSA score at diagnosis, as well as their Gleason score (the grading system used to determine the aggressiveness of prostate cancer) determines the prognosis and final stage designation. Prostate cancer has a high survival rate in general, but your chances depend on the stage of the cancer.
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How Quickly Does Prostate Cancer Spread?
Prostate cancer is a cancer that develops in the prostate gland in men and it is one of the most common types of cancer. In some cases, it can take up to eight years to spread from the prostate to other parts of the body (metastasis), typically the bones. In other cases, it may be more aggressive.
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How Does Prostate Cancer Kill You in the End?
Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate gland in men. Death from prostate cancer most often happens when cancer has spread (metastasized) to other organs in the body.
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What Foods Kill Prostate Cancer?
Prostate cancer refers to the uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate gland. There is no particular food or recipe that can directly kill prostate cancer cells. Some foods that may be helpful in prostate cancer recovery and relapse prevention include foods containing lycopene, beans, green tea, cruciferous vegetables and fruit like cranberries, strawberries, blueberries and pomegranates.
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Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men after skin cancer. Risk factors include age, family history, ethnicity, and diet. Prostate cancer is diagnosed by a digital rectal exam, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, and prostate biopsy. Symptoms may include frequent need to urinate, incontinence, pain, blood in the urine, fatigue, and more. Prognosis and treatment depend on cancer staging. Watchful waiting, surgery, radiation, cryotherapy, and other management strategies are available. Research and clinical trials strive to find new and better treatments for prostate cancer.
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Prostate Cancer Early Signs and Symptoms
Difficulty with urination – frequency, weak stream, trouble getting started, etc. – is usually the first sign of prostate cancer. But these and other early symptoms of prostatic cancer can also come from benign prostate conditions, so diagnostic testing is important, including PSA tests and digital rectal exam.
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What Are the Five Warning Signs of Prostate Cancer?
Prostate cancer primarily affects men over 50, but is easy to treat if found early. Learn the signs of prostate cancer, what causes prostate cancer, how doctors diagnose prostate cancer, and how they treat prostate cancer.
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Prostate Cancer Facts
Prostate cancer is a leading cause of cancer and cancer death in males; in some men, identifying it early may prevent or delay metastasis and death from prostate cancer. The prostate is a walnut-shaped gland that is a part of the male reproductive system that wraps around the male urethra at it exits the bladder. Prostate cancer is common in men over 50 years of age, with the risk of developing prostate cancer increases with aging.
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Early-Stage Prostate Cancer Treatment
If prostate cancer is detected early and appears to be slow-growing, invasive procedures, chemotherapy, radiation and other approaches can sometimes do more harm than good. Many prostate cancer treatments come with side effects, like incontinence or impotence, so it’s in the patient’s interest to put off invasive treatments as long as is medically safe. Active surveillance is where doctors "watch and wait" for changes that could prompt medical intervention.
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How Is Prostate Cancer Diagnosed?
Prostate cancer is largely a disease of men over 40, so it’s around this age doctors recommend the first prostate screening. The first exam is a blood test to determine if there are abnormal prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels in your blood – PSA is produced by the prostate. If the PSA is high, your doctor will perform a digital rectal exam, during which the doctor feels your prostate from inside your rectum with a gloved finger. Other diagnostic tests include an endoscopic biopsy of tumor tissue for analysis in a lab.
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Prostate Cancer: Radical Prostatectomy Surgery
Radical prostatectomy, or surgical removal of the entire prostate gland, isn’t typically the first choice in prostate cancer treatment. Sometimes a radical approach is necessary to keep the cancer from metastasizing, however. Some cases are too severe or diagnosed too late for drugs or radiation to have much effect. In these cases, treatment teams may opt for a radical prostatectomy, despite potential side effects like impotence and incontinence.
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Prostate Cancer Treatment: Focal Therapy and Other Experimental Treatments
Several new and experimental treatments for prostate cancer are under study, including treatments that use ultrasound, lasers, tissue-freezing gas, and new ways of administering radiation. These new methods are types of focal therapy, that is, treatment focused on the cancer cells in the prostate, rather than systemic therapy that administers medications or other treatments to the whole body with the aim of treating the prostate.
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Prostate Cancer Treatment: Hormonal Therapy
Prostate cancer is highly sensitive to, and dependent on, the level of the male hormone testosterone, which drives the growth of prostate cancer cells. Testosterone belongs to a family of hormones called androgens, and today front-line hormonal therapy for advanced and metastatic prostate cancer is called androgen deprivation therapy (ADT).
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What Is the Latest Treatment for Prostate Cancer?
Prostate cancer affects 1 in 5 men. Learn how it is diagnosed and treated by doctors.
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Prostate Cancer: Radiation, Brachytherapy and Radiopharmaceuticals
Radiation treatment for prostate cancer is a powerful tool at doctors’ disposal. Using radiation vs. surgery or other invasive treatments to kill cancer cells may still cause side effects, but ideally they are less severe. Radiation therapy can be performed via external beam therapy (EBRT) or the placement of radioactive seeds into the prostate (prostate brachytherapy) or using radioactive drugs (radiopharmaceuticals).
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Prostate Cancer Treatment: Chemotherapy, Bone-Targeted and Immune Therapy
Doctors may introduce chemotherapy and immune therapy if other measures fail to cure a case of prostate cancer. However, unlike with other forms of cancer, chemotherapy isn’t the first choice for early prostate cancer. Immune therapy uses the body's own immune system to attack the prostate tumor, while bone-targeted therapy aims to preserve bone and prevent metastasis.
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The Early Signs of Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer in its early stages usually causes no signs and symptoms. Screening can help detect the cancer early.
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When Should You Screen for Prostate Cancer?
Screening for prostate cancer helps detecta tumor early, enabling timely treatment and prevention of any complications. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), the decision to get screened should be made by men in consultation with their doctor. The doctor needs to counsel the men about the uncertainties involved in the screening process, the risks and potential benefits of getting screened for prostate cancer.
Treatment & Diagnosis
Medications & Supplements
- Lutetium Lu 177 vipivotide tetraxetan
- dutasteride
- Orgovyx (relugolix)
- Zoladex (goserelin acetate)
- Jalyn (dutasteride and tamsulosin hydrochloride)
- Erleada (apalutamide)
- Rapaflo (silodosin)
- Gallium Ga 68 PSMA-11 Injection
- Axumin (fluciclovine F 18) injection
- Yonsa (abiraterone acetate)
- Vantas (histrelin acetate)
Prevention & Wellness
- Obesity Raises a Man's Odds for Fatal Prostate Cancer
- Scientists Pinpoint Five Bacteria Linked to Aggressive Prostate Cancer
- As Use of PSA Test Fell, Rate of Advanced Prostate Cancers Rose
- Newer Hormone Treatments for Prostate Cancer May Raise Risk of Depression
- Obese Men May Have Better Survival With Advanced Prostate Cancer
- Adding MRI to Screening Can Cut Prostate Cancer Overdiagnosis in Half
- James Michael Tyler, Who Played Gunther on 'Friends,' Has Advanced Prostate Cancer
- Genes Help Explain Role of Race in Prostate Cancer Risk
- Mediterranean Diet Could Help Stop Prostate Cancer's Spread
- 'Hidden' Prostate Cancer on Biopsy Usually Means Good Outcome: Study
- Al Roker Has Prostate Cancer
- More Prostate Cancers Are Being Diagnosed at a Later Stage
- Catch Prostate Cancer Early – It Could Save Your Life
- 'Spare Tire' Increases Prostate Cancer Risk
- Prostate Cancer Prevention
- Surviving Prostate Cancer: One Patient's Story
- Prostate Cancer: How Does Your State Rate?
- Prostate Cancer Specific References
- Hormone Therapy for Prostate Cancer
- Cancer: Questions to Ask About Hormone Therapy for Prostate Cancer
- Cancer: 'You've Got Prostate Cancer'
- Chemotherapy Extends Life in Prostate Cancer
- Prostate Cancer Awareness Month
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