Diagnosing Prostate Cancer and Its Treatment Options
In most developed countries, prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers occurring in males
. It is a disease of aging and diagnosing prostate cancer rarely occurs in men younger than 50 years old. Based upon epidemiologic observations, there are four causative factors suggestive for this kind of prostate condition and they are genetic predisposition, endogenous hormonal influences, exposure to environmental chemical carcinogens and venereal transmitted infectious agents.
In spite of the prevalence of prostatic cancer, the tumor usually escapes detection until the disease is advanced or it is incidentally discovered at the time of surgery for a benign disease of the prostate. Failure to detect the tumor early is due in part to the lack of warning signs and symptoms. It does not necessarily progress in an orderly fashion. Symptoms related to metastasis may therefore precede any awareness of malignant growth in the prostate itself.
Early prostate cancer symptoms may include difficulty in starting the urinary stream, unexplained cystitis, dribbling and urinary retention. Blood in the urine is uncommon. Advanced clinical findings include bladder outlet obstructive symptoms with urinary retention and absence of urine, the presence of nitrogenous wastes on the urine, uremia, anemia, anorexia, or bone pain from metastatic disease. The diagnosis of prostatic cancer is often not made until the disease is advanced. Commonly, patients show advanced disease upon initial examination.
Tests used to diagnosing prostate cancer include a digital rectal examination, needle or open biopsy, bone scan, intravenous pyelogram and CT scan of the lower abdomen. The digital rectal examination is reported to be 50 to 70% accurate in diagnosing prostate cancer. Prostate ultrasound may reveal cancers too small to be detected by physical examination. A bone scan is the most accurate way to detect bone metastasis and CT scan is the most accurate in detecting lymph node metastasis.
Treatment For Prostate Cancer is individualized based on the age of the patient, survival prognosis, physical state and histological grade of cancer. Therapy for prostatic carcinoma can include transurethral resection prostatectomy when the physical state of the patient makes open surgery risky. Chemotherapy and radiation and endocrine therapy are also other methods that will help treat this kind of cancer.
The recognition that the biologic behavior of prostatic carcinoma varies widely and that current staging methods fail to accurately predict its malignant potential has left both the physician and patient confused about the selection of appropriate therapy. The status of the patient, extent of the disease at the time of diagnosis, histologic characteristics of the tumor and limitations of each type of therapy determine whether the appropriate goals of therapy are eradication of the disease or temporary control of local and distant disease or palliation.
The challenge is to provide the patient with a therapeutic option that is appropriate to the biologic threat posed by cancer and to the desired goals. More than one option may exist when more than one form of treatment has been demonstrated to be effective in achieving a goal or when the outcome is uncertain and the probabilities for success appear comparable.
If you are already on your 40 or 50s, you must make it a habit to subject yourself to yearly
Treatment For Prostate Cancer for the presence of prostate cancer symptoms. It usually occurs during this stage of a man's life. To learn more about this type of cancer, click
Diagnosing Prostate Cancer and Its Treatment Options
By: scheygen smith
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