Prostate cancer is cancer that occurs in the prostate â a small walnut-shaped gland in men that produces the seminal fluid that nourishes and transports sperm.
Prostate cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in men. Usually prostate cancer grows slowly and is initially confined to the prostate gland, where it may not cause serious harm. However, while some types of prostate cancer grow slowly and may need minimal or even no treatment, other types are aggressive and can spread quickly.
Prostate cancer that's detected early â when it's still confined to the prostate glandâ has a better chance of successful treatment.
Prostate cancer care at Mayo Clinic
Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com
Prostate cancer may cause no signs or symptoms in its early stages.
Prostate cancer that's more advanced may cause signs and symptoms such as:
Make an appointment with your doctor if you have any signs or symptoms that worry you.
Debate continues regarding the risks and benefits of prostate cancer screening, and medical organizations differ on their recommendations. Discuss prostate cancer screening with your doctor. Together, you can decide what's best for you.
Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com
It's not clear what causes prostate cancer.
Doctors know that prostate cancer begins when some cells in your prostate become abnormal. Mutations in the abnormal cells' DNA cause the cells to grow and divide more rapidly than normal cells do. The abnormal cells continue living, when other cells would die. The accumulating abnormal cells form a tumor that can grow to invade nearby tissue. Some abnormal cells can also break off and spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body.
Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com
Whether to test healthy men with no symptoms for prostate cancer is controversial. Medical organizations don't agree on the issue of screening and whether it delivers benefits.
Some medical organizations recommend men consider prostate cancer screening in their 50s, or sooner for men who have risk factors for prostate cancer.
Discuss your particular situation and the benefits and risks of screening with your doctor. Together, you can decide whether prostate cancer screening is right for you.
Prostate screening tests might include:
PSA testing combined with DRE helps identify prostate cancers at their earliest stages. Hence, debate continues surrounding prostate cancer screening.
If a DRE or PSA test detects an abnormality, your doctor may recommend further tests to determine whether you have prostate cancer, such as:
At Mayo Clinic, urologists and radiologists collaborate to leverage MRI fusion biopsy technology, yielding the best fusion imaging available for prostate cancer care.
Mayo Clinic also leverages MRI-TRUS fusion technology, which blends (fuses) images from an MRI scan and transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) to create a more-precise 360-degree prostate map, which in turn can improve prostate biopsy accuracy.
Mayo Clinic is also the first medical center in the United States approved by the Food and Drug Administration to prepare and administer C-11 choline PET scanning to help detect recurrent prostate cancer at its earliest stages â before it can be detected by other imaging tests â and enable more-precise targeting for follow-up treatment.
When a biopsy confirms the presence of cancer, the next step is to determine the level of aggressiveness (grade) of the cancer cells. A laboratory pathologist examines a sample of your cancer to determine how much cancer cells differ from the healthy cells. A higher grade indicates a more aggressive cancer that is more likely to spread quickly.
The most common scale used to evaluate the grade of prostate cancer cells is called a Gleason score. Gleason scoring combines two numbers and can range from 2 (nonaggressive cancer) to 10 (very aggressive cancer).
In addition, genomic testing in increasingly being used to more accurately assess risk and detect aggressive prostate cancer.
Mayo Clinic physicians and researchers are leaders in the development of biomarkers for prostate cancer. Doctors in Mayo Clinic's Center for Individualized Medicine are advancing research on the use of biomarkers in blood and in prostate tissue to better individualize and optimize treatment for men with prostate cancer. The technology helps caregivers distinguish between insignificant and significant prostate cancer, as well as identify particularly aggressive prostate cancer in men undergoing surgery.
Once a prostate cancer diagnosis has been made, your doctor works to determine the extent (stage) of the cancer. If your doctor suspects your cancer may have spread beyond your prostate, one or more of the following imaging tests may be recommended:
At Mayo Clinic, caregivers can also turn to prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) studies to help detect the extent of newly diagnosed prostate cancer and whether the disease has spread to nearby lymph nodes.
Mayo clinicians also use recent 7 Tesla (7T) magnet imaging technology advancements to differentiate between prostate cancer that does or doesn't require immediate intervention.
Not every person should have every test. Your doctor will help determine which tests are best for your individual case.
Your doctor uses the information from these tests to assign your cancer a stage. Prostate cancer stages are indicated by Roman numerals ranging from I to IV. The lowest stages indicate the cancer is confined to the prostate. By stage IV, the cancer has grown beyond the prostate and may have spread to other areas of the body.
The cancer staging system continues to evolve and is becoming more complex as doctors improve cancer diagnosis and treatment. Your doctor uses your cancer stage to select the treatments that are right for you.
Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com
Complications of prostate cancer and its treatments include:
Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com
You can reduce your risk of prostate cancer if you:
Choose a healthy diet full of fruits and vegetables. Avoid high-fat foods and instead focus on choosing a variety of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Fruits and vegetables contain many vitamins and nutrients that can contribute to your health.
Whether you can prevent prostate cancer through diet has yet to be conclusively proved. But eating a healthy diet with a variety of fruits and vegetables can improve your overall health.
Exercise most days of the week. Exercise improves your overall health, helps you maintain your weight and improves your mood. There is some evidence that men who don't exercise have higher PSA levels, while men who exercise may have a lower risk of prostate cancer.
Try to exercise most days of the week. If you're new to exercise, start slow and work your way up to more exercise time each day.
Talk to your doctor about increased risk of prostate cancer. Men with a high risk of prostate cancer may consider medications or other treatments to reduce their risk. Some studies suggest that taking 5-alpha reductase inhibitors, including finasteride (Propecia, Proscar) and dutasteride (Avodart), may reduce the overall risk of developing prostate cancer. These drugs are used to control prostate gland enlargement and hair loss in men.
However, some evidence indicates that men taking these medications may have an increased risk of getting a more serious form of prostate cancer (high-grade prostate cancer). If you're concerned about your risk of developing prostate cancer, talk with your doctor.
Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com
No complementary or alternative treatments will cure prostate cancer. However, complementary and alternative prostate cancer treatments may help you cope with the side effects of cancer and its treatment.
Nearly everyone diagnosed with cancer experiences some distress at some point. If you're distressed, you may feel sad, angry or anxious. You may experience difficulty sleeping or find yourself constantly thinking about your cancer.
Several complementary medicine techniques may help you cope with your distress, including:
Discuss your feelings and concerns with your doctor. In some cases, treatment for distress may require medications.
Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com
When you receive a diagnosis of prostate cancer, you may experience a range of feelings â including disbelief, fear, anger, anxiety and depression. With time, each person finds his own way of coping with a prostate cancer diagnosis.
Until you find what works for you, try to:
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Factors that can increase your risk of prostate cancer include:
Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com
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