Prostate Cancer: Symptoms, Causes and Treatment
Asian Institute of Nephrology and Urology | December 13, 2023
Prostate cancer occurs in the prostate gland, which secretes fluid that nourishes and keeps the sperm healthy for conception. This walnut-shaped organ is located right beneath the bladder in males. Prostate cancer usually grows slowly and can be treated easily when it’s not spread to the surrounding organs and tissues. However, few can have aggressive cancer cells, which multiply rapidly and few are diagnosed at late stages.
Prostate cancer is the second most common type of cancer affecting males. Your healthcare provider will most likely diagnose the cancer during your routine screening. Because of its slow-growing nature and early detection, many people diagnosed with prostate cancer get cancer-free. Let’s learn more about prostate cancer's causes, signs, symptoms, and treatment.
1. Causes of Prostate Cancer
There are certain risk factors that might put some people at an increased risk of developing prostate cancer compared to others.
Risk Factors
- Age: People over 50 are more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than those in their 20s and 30s.
- Family History: If a blood relative in your family, such as your parents and siblings, has a history of prostate cancer or breast cancer, then your risk of developing prostate cancer is slightly higher than that of an average person.
- Obesity: People diagnosed with obesity are at a greater risk of developing prostate cancer than those with a normal weight. Obesity can also increase the risk of cancer recurrence after treatment.
- Race: People with African ancestry are more likely to develop prostate cancer as compared to Asians and others.
2. Signs and Symptoms of Prostate Cancer
Like any cancer, detecting prostate cancer at an early stage is quite difficult, as it doesn’t produce many symptoms. You might start noticing problems once the disease progresses. Here are the signs of prostate cancer:
- Frequent urination
- Sudden and uncontrollable urge to urinate
- Poor urine flow
- Pain or a burning sensation when urinating
- Blood in their urine.
- As the cancer grows, you might experience bone pains especially at in the lower back and hips.
Most of these symptoms can even occur in patients with age related non-cancerous prostate enlargement. Your Urologist will run few tests to differentiate.
3. Diagnosis and Treatment
Your doctor might advise you to get regular screening if you are over 50, especially if you are at increased risk of developing prostate cancer. The routine clinical exam might be able to detect prostate cancer, but further testing is required to confirm the cancer, locate the cancer and determine how far it’s spread.
Diagnosis begins with the digital rectal exam, in which the professional will insert the lubricated finger through your rectum to feel your prostate gland. They will look out for any hard lumps or anything unusual that could possibly be a benign or malignant tumor.
They may also check the PSA (Prostate specific antigen) level, which is a protein produced by prostate gland. An increased PSA level in your blood might mean a higher risk of prostate cancer, although the PSA level could rise due to an enlarged prostate or urinary infections.
If your doctor suspects cancerous growth within your prostate gland, they might order further imaging and prostate biopsy
MRI: An MRI shows the size, location, and stage of cancer. It helps give clear information about the cancer growth, thus making it easier to determine a suitable treatment.
Biopsy: Once MRI locates suspicious lesion, Your healthcare provider will take biopsy from that lesion and send it for microscopic testing. It also shows how aggressive is the cancer.
Staging: It’s considered local if it’s confined within the prostate gland and regional if it has spread to the nearby tissues or lymph nodes. If the cancer has grown outside the prostate, i.e.liver, brain, lungs, lymph nodes, and other organs, it is considered metastasized.
