Who Is At Risk For Prostate Cancer?

Prostate gland is most important organ in each male, therefore prostate cancer is most awful of male cancers. One man in ten among those diseased with cancers die from prostate cancer. Mortality in men under 45 is not significant – just 3 cases per million, instead, in men over 75 the mortality increases 400 times and cancer is found in 130 cases per 100 000 men.

In Russia prostate cancer occurs two times more rarely than in the world. However, the number increases each year. The risks are different for different males. Besides age, an important role plays heredity, for example, in Asia and Eastern Europe is not so widely-spread than in USA and Scandinavia.

In some families risks are much higher which means that men whose relatives had prostate cancer should start examinations much earlier than in 75 years old. For instance, a man may make PSA test which helps to detect prostate specific antigen. However, remember that this method provides many false positive and many false-negative results and is informative only in combination with other methods.

Such factors as bad habits and bad ecological situation increase risks for prostate cancer. And most sad finding is that in men with high sexual activity the prostate cancer occurs more frequently.

Not a single male would be happy to hear the diagnosis “prostate cancer” but this diagnosis not always is a death sentence. Doctor and patient should know how would behave crazy tumor. Will it grow rapidly so that it would require last extreme measures? Or it grows slowly which allows to use medical treatment which helps to lower the risks? The answer may depend on condition of tumor vessels.

Like any tissue it requires nutrition and oxygen, therefore on the blood supply of tumor influences on its development. Studies made by several American cancer centers on more than 500 men with prostate cancer found an important regularity.

Aggressive and deadly tumors of prostate gland usually have thin irregular and primitively arranged vascular netting while slowly growing tumors it has a common look. The probability of metastasis or death is six times higher if vessels are thicker and 17 times higher in case of extra irregular vascular netting.

Prostate Cancer Symptoms

Major histological grade of prostate cancer is adenocarcinoma. In most cases the disease at its early stages courses without symptoms.

Then appear different urination disorders such as frequent uriesthesia (especially at night time) which leads to increase of urine amount at night time in comparison with daytime. Are possible also urinary retention, uroclepsia and blood in urine.

In some cases the number of day and night urinations may achieve up to 15- 20 times (the norm is 3 -4 times at daytime and one time at night) which are followed by strong urges and pains.

When growth invades seminal vesicles, male may experience problems with potency. When growth becomes large, male may experience retention of feces and pains during bowel movements.

Growth of regional metastasis due to lymph movement breakdown may result in inpuffiness of lower limbs, penis and scrotum..

When metastasis appear in bony tissue (pelvic bones, lumbar spine, femoral bone) male feels pains. When metastasis are spread on liver, symptoms which patient experiences depend on their number and size.

In case of singular metastasis, liver is increased and patient feels dull pains in right side, and in case of multiple metastasis occurs icterus and liver failure.

In case of secondary growth in lungs may appear dry cough, mainly at night which becomes painful with cancer progression, also may appear purulent sputum and blood spitting. Most common symptom are pains in chest (dull or acute) and shortness of breath.

Signs and Symptoms of Prostate Cancer

In most cases prostate cancer at first stages courses without symptoms. Complaints appear when growth spreads to other organs and metastasis do appear. Prostate cancer progresses relatively slow and thus at the beginning shows with very few symptoms. In several years symptoms grow.

When cancer courses without symptoms the only way to detect it is PSA test which examines rate of prostate specific antigen in male blood. In this case growth size is not significant or are found only pre-cancerous changes.  When growth increases and spreads to urinary tract and bladder, may appear urinary irritation symptoms, such as:

-  frequent urination
-  difficulties with urination
-  incontinence of urine
-  sudden micturate urge

Also patient may suffer from symptoms of upper urinary tract blocking:

-  widening of ureters and kidneys cavity
-  pains in lumbar region
-  calculi formation in kidneys

Metastasis in bones cause pains in limbs, but metastasis in spinal cord lead to paresthesia and paralysis.  Metastasis in organs cause dysfunctions in them.
Thus, all symptoms of prostate cancer are non-specific, they show dysfunctions of damaged organs. That is why to diagnose prostate cancer men over 50 and those predisposed to cancer must make prostate cancer screening.