Five Most Common Cancers In Men

Cancer presents a real danger for men's health. However, suspicions about the existing danger and knowing to recognize its major symptoms, men get the chance to live a longer life.

1. Prostate cancer
Unfortunately, on early stages prostate cancer does not show itself, therefore if during digital rectal examination your doctor found that prostate gland is increased, it is necessary to make blood test to find out the amount of prostate-specific antigen (PSA test) and if necessary to make biopsy.

2. Lung cancer
Its major symptom is persisting long-lasting cough, blood in cough spit, pains in chest that are not connected with movements.

3. Bowel cancer
Blood in feces is the sign that you should go to the doctor. Sometimes its cause may be hemorrhoid and diverticulitis and sometimes it may be precancerous polypus. Anyway it is necessary to perform colonoscopy.

4. Bladder cancer
Early symptom of this cancer may be blood in urine.

5. Lymphadenoma
In case lymph glands are increased on the neck, arm-pits, groin and if nodes do not go away during a week it is necessary to seek doctor's advice. Another cause to worry is sudden weight loss or pains in  lymph glands after drinking alcohol.

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 Myths Revealed

Myth 1. Men with prostate cancer do die but not of it
In fact, each 6th male gets diseased with prostate cancer and each 35th dies of it. With some forms of cancer a male may live for years, however, remember that prostate cancer is second disease among cancers which ends up with death.

Myth 2. There is no need to undergo examination because specialists are not sure in its effectiveness
In fact, main aim of examination is to detect the disease at its early stage when the treatment is still effective. There do exist two methods of examination: PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) test and digital rectal examination. Specialists do recommend to make both of them.

Normally, small amounts of prostate specific antigen are found in blood. PSA rate in blood do increases in prostate cancer, prostatitis and benign prostatic hyperplasia. Like most tests, PSA test not provides 100% accuracy of diagnosis. In some cases is performed examination with the help of invasive methods such biopsy of prostate gland. On the other hand, PSA test results may be normal even if male has prostate cancer.

Since 1990 when PSA test was introduced in clinical practice, the mortality from prostate cancer was reduced. However, not all specialists think that PSA test is the cause of mortality lowering. Up to now do not stop discussions about the necessity of monitoring health of all males with the help of PSA test. However, men over 50 are recommended to make PSA test. In case man has in his family males (father, brother) who had prostate cancer, he must start examinations at 45 years old.

Myth 3. Man becomes impotent  after prostate gland removal
In fact, prostatectomy is the surgical removal of prostate gland damaged by cancer. Sometimes nerves that control erections may be affected. At first months after surgery most men face different forms of erectile dysfunction. It depends on male age, erection before surgery and way of surgical intervention how long this dysfunction will persist. Surgery that helps to avoid damage of nerves do reduces risks for erectile dysfunction development. If needed, erection may be maintained with injections into penis and special devices.

Myth 4. All men after prostatectomy do suffer from involuntary urination
In fact, involuntary urination is one of side effects of surgical removal of prostate gland. In most men it clears up after several weeks or months after surgery. According to statistics, in 5 years after surgical intervention about 1\3 of men suffer from stress-inducing involuntary urination when laughing and coughing. Serious problems with involuntary urination occur only in 5% of cases. Risk for involuntary urination lowers when surgery is performed by experienced specialists in large cancer centers.

What Are the Risk Factors For Prostate Cancer?

Existence of genetic predisposition for prostate cancer is confirmed by existence of a specific gene responsible for synthesis of atypical cells.

Normally, the activity of this gene is suppressed, but in adverse conditions it is activated. Failure of control over activity of this gene has a hereditary nature of transmission and the more frank it is, the more relatives in their younger age (under 50 years old) accurately have or had prostate cancer. This risk factor seven times increases risks for prostate cancer.

Metabolic syndrome, that appears on the back of obesity, also may be a cause of prostate cancer. As a result, may appear insulin resistance which leads not only to type 2 diabetes, but also to intense production of androgenes (regulation may be broken in hypophysis and hypothalamus, atrabiliary capsules and testes). Incidence of this syndrome increases with age.

Such bad habit as smoking and also harmful work on the noxious manufacturing may lead to numerous mutations in prostate gland cells. Here most mutagenic activity is found in cadmium.

There is no particular race that is more predisposed to prostate cancer than others. Studies showed that in prostate cancer big role plays not race but ecological situation in place of residence of the man, and efficiency of diagnostics.

A good many causes leading to atypical regeneration of prostate gland cells do not allow to exclude someone from risk group, therefore each male should see the urologist regularly and undergo PSA tests, especially after 40 – 50 years old.

Prostate Cancer Diagnostic Methods

At early stages cancer shows no symptoms, therefore prostate cancer is difficult to detect.

Urologist must perform here digital rectal examination of prostate gland. This examination helps to detect induration of prostate and exclude cancerous growths.

Also are performed next examinations:

• identification of PSA rate in blood
• transrectal ultrasound
• biopsy of prostate gland

When prostate cancer is suspected, it is necessary to examine areas where lymph glands are located in order to find if they were affected by cancer or not.

Most important test in cancer diagnostics is PSA (prostate specific antigen) test. Today this test is major method of screening and early detection of prostate cancer.

Unfortunately, PSA is not specific for prostate cancer, its rate may be increased after sexual intercourse, in case of various inflammations in prostate, adenoma, and after various operations. However, often this is the only symptom which helps to suspect cancerous growths in prostate gland.

To exclude false-positive results, there do exist several methods to calculate PSA:
1) pace of PSA rate increase (increase by 0,75ng/ml and more each year may be an indication of prostate cancer)
2) age norms of PSA rate (PSA rate increases with aging as prostate gland increases in its size, however its rate must be no more than 4ng/ml at age of 50)
3) rates of free and connected PSA (correlation between these rates is most significant criteria of prostate cancer diagnostics)

Next stage in prostate cancer diagnostics after PSA test is transrectal ultrasound which shows size of prostate gland, indurations and nodular lumps. Transrectal ultrasound helps more precise than digital rectal examination to detect stage of prostate cancer.

Biopsy of prostate cancer is major method to confirm prostate cancer diagnosis. It is performed along with ultrasound examination. In biopsy is used special device which is inserted into rectum to take several (6 – 12) fragments of prostate gland. Then is performed microscopic examination to define types of cells. Fragments where nodular lumps were found are examined more carefully. In case biopsy showed negative result, but in the course of several months PSA rate is increased, then PSA test is made once again.

After diagnosis of prostate cancer is made computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of pelvis organs, and also scanning of bones to detect metastasis.

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.

Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Test

Normally blood contains small amount of prostate-specific antigen (PSA). PSA is a specific protein produced by prostate gland in men. PSA increases in blood in case of prostate enlargement, prostate inflammation or other diseases. Also it increases in case of prostate cancer. Blood test detects the level of PSA. As other tests, here is possible false-positive and false-negative results. Sometimes in men diseased with prostate cancer this test shows negative result, but in men with high PSA level the horrible diagnosis is not confirmed.

For men older than 50 years is recommended to undergo digital rectal examination and PSA test. Men with bad inheritance should make examination at 45 years. As for this, there is an other opinion. Some specialists say there is not necessarily to examine every single man. You should discuss with your doctor the necessity of examination only in case when you are 50 years older or there was prostate cancer cases in your family. Because the advisability of test is quarreled, you should discuss with your doctor all its risks and advantages.

PSA test can be used to follow progress of a disease or to define the effectiveness of chosen treatment.

PSA test preparation

There is no necessary to make a special preparation for the test. To avoid false results it is better to perform PSA test exactly before digital rectal examination or in two days or more after it.

Test performance

To examine PSA they draw a blood sample from vein. When needle insertion you can feel pain but it feels not for a long time. A little dose of blood is taken in tube and it is sent into laboratories.

Duration of procedure

PSA blood sampling takes 3-5 minutes.

Bad result: what to do?

If PSA in blood is high, and when rectal examination anything suspicious was not detected, doctor can ask you to make test again.

PSA level higher than 4ng/ml means 20-25% probability of prostate cancer. If PSA level is higher than 10ng/ml then the probability of prostate cancer is 50%. The more higher PSA level is in blood the more higher is threat of oncological diseases.

However, the result of PSA test can be the evidence to establish diagnosis of cancer. PSA level can increase when innocent prostate hyperplasia. Besides that, it can increase because of infections, prostate inflammations, and also after biopsy and operations on prostate. If PSA level is above normal, it is necessary to undergo Transrectal Ultrasonography. To detect cancer it is necessary to make biopsy.

PSA test risks

PSA test itself is not connected with risk. False-positive result of this analysis makes patient undergo other examinations, and false-negative result complicates cancer diagnosis.

In majority of men over 40 years PSA level in their blood is below 4ng/ml. Men on the right side of 40 should have PSA level no more than 2.7 ng/ml.