Understanding the nitty gritty of prostate cancer
The prostate serves several purposes. These include releasing PSA, a protein that helps semen maintain its liquid state, generating the fluid that nourishes and transports sperm, and assisting with urinary control. Prostate cancer is the most prevalent cancer affecting men in the United States, aside from skin cancer.
Every year, prostate cancer is diagnosed in about 200,000 American males. There are numerous effective therapies available, and some guys don’t even require care. Still, the illness claims 33,000 lives in men each year.
Signs and Symptoms
Early prostate cancer frequently has no symptoms, but screening might find alterations that can be cancerous. Using a test, screening can determine how much PSA is present in the blood. High levels imply the possibility of malignancy.
Men who do have symptoms might notice:
- Inability to begin and maintain urinating;
- A persistent urge to urinate, particularly at night, a weak urine stream, and blood or semen in the urine; and
- Back, hips, or pelvic pain during urination or ejaculation.
Causes
The cells won’t be malignant at first, and the changes will be gradual. They might eventually develop cancer, though. The grade of a cancer cell can be high or low. Low-grade cells are not likely to grow and are not a cause for concern, whereas high-grade cells are more likely to proliferate and spread.
The following risk elements could increase the likelihood:
a) Age: Prostate cancer is uncommon before the age of 45, although the risk increases after 50.
b) Race and Ethnicity: Black people experience the condition more frequently than white people do. The risk is lower for Asian and Hispanic persons than for Black or White people.
c)Family history: A person’s risk of having prostate cancer is increased if they have close relatives who have had the disease in the past.
d)Diet: Some proof suggests eating a lot of fat may make you more likely to develop prostate cancer.
Types of Prostate Cancer
Adenocarcinomas (malignant tumours)make up almost all cases of prostate cancer. The cells of glands that produce secretions are where this type of cancer begins. Rarely do other cancer kinds spread to the prostate. These consist of:
- Small cell carcinomas
- Transitional cell carcinomas
- Neuroendocrine tumours
- Sarcomas
Screening Tests for Prostate Cancer
Digital Rectal Exam: A finger is inserted into the rectum while wearing gloves and lubricant to feel the prostate gland, which is located in front of the rectum, during a digital rectal exam. Unusual growths or hard spots can be cancer.
Blood test for prostate-specific antigen (PSA): The prostate gland produces a protein referred to as protein-specific antigen (PSA). Increased PSA levels could be a sign of cancer. If you have BPH or prostatitis, levels also increase.
Biopsy: The only accurate approach to diagnose prostate cancer is by a needle biopsy that samples tissue in search of cancer cells. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology produces fine-grained images of the prostate during an MRI-guided prostate biopsy.
Managing Prostate Cancer
- Active surveillance: You have screenings, scans, and biopsies every one to three years under active surveillance to track the development of cancer. If the cancer is isolated to the prostate, slow-growing, and asymptomatic, active surveillance is most effective.
- Brachytherapy: A type of internal radiation therapy that involves implanting radioactive seeds inside the prostate is known as brachytherapy. This strategy protects the nearby healthy tissue.
- External beam radiation therapy: In this procedure, powerful X-ray beams are directed directly at the tumour using a machine. External radiation therapy called intensity-modulated radiation therapy uses high radiation doses to treat the illness location.
- Systemic treatments: If cancer has progressed beyond the prostate gland, your doctor might advise systemic treatments. Chemotherapy, androgen deprivation hormone therapy, and immunotherapy are some of these treatments.
- Focal Therapy: A more recent type of treatment called focal therapy targets only the part of the prostate that is cancerous. If cancer has not yet spread, you might be able to try this treatment. High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), cryotherapy, laser ablation, and photodynamic treatment are examples of focal therapy options.
- Prostatectomy: The unhealthy prostate gland is surgically removed during this treatment. Through small abdominal incisions, surgeons can conduct laparoscopic and robotic radical prostatectomy. Although both of these operations are efficient in removing cancer, they are less invasive than an open radical prostatectomy, which necessitates a bigger abdominal incision.
Effects on Fertility
Fertility is impacted in a variety of ways by prostate cancer and many of its therapies.
For instance, fertility and semen output will be impacted by surgery to remove either the prostate gland or the testicles. Additionally, radiation therapy can harm prostate tissue, sperm, and the volume of semen needed to deliver it. Treatment with hormones may potentially impact fertility.
But there are ways to keep these processes intact, such as sperm banking before surgery or sperm extraction from the testicles itself for artificial insemination.
After prostate cancer therapy, fertility is not guaranteed to be unaffected.
Conclusion
Although prostate cancer is a prevalent condition, doctors can identify the majority of cases early and offer efficient therapy. In contrast to those with distant prostate cancer, those with localised or regional prostate cancer have a 5-year survival rate of 30%. Currently, 98% of people survive for five years overall.
Regular screening is the greatest approach to finding prostate cancer in its earliest stages. Depending on risk factors, screening may be best started at age 40. If you haven’t had a screening yet, talk to your doctor about your alternatives.
