Conditions

Treatments

Prostate Cancer

Description

Prostate cancer is the second most common cause of death from cancer in men in the United States. It is the leading cancer diagnosis among US males. Indeed, about 16% of American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer sometime in their life. Since the early 1990’s, advances in both the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer have resulted in the disease being treated earlier, more effectively, and with fewer side effects. Prostate cancer can be commonly misspelled as prostrate cancer.

Screening

Currently, the combination of the PSA blood test and the digital rectal examination is the best method available for prostate cancer screening. The goal of early detection is to find the prostate cancer at an early stage, when the disease is likely to be confined to the prostate. Since the PSA test was introduced in the early 1990’s, there has been a dramatic increase in men being diagnosed at an earlier, more treatable stage. Most recommendations call for yearly prostate cancer screening in men over 50, and in men over 40 with certain risk factors, such as family history of prostate cancer.

Diagnosis

A prostate biopsy is typically recommended if there is an abnormality in either the digital rectal exam or the PSA test. The biopsy is usually done as an office procedure, and local anesthesia is given before the biopsy. The prostate biopsy is performed under ultrasound guidance so that the prostate can be sampled more accurately.

Stage and Grade

Once the biopsy is taken from the prostate, the tissue is sent to a pathologist, who determines whether or not cancer is present. If there is cancer present, the pathologist assigns a Gleason score to the cancer. This score is a measurement of the aggressiveness of the tumor. The stage represents whether or not the tumor is confined to the prostate.

Treatment

A wide variety of treatments for prostate cancer are available. These include watchful-waiting, hormonal therapy, cryosurgery or cryoablation, radiation therapy (external beam or brachytherapy), and surgery (daVinci robotic prostatectomy or radical prostatectomy). Treatment should be individualized based upon many factors including the patient’s age, Gleason score, tumor stage, and the patient’s lifestyle expectations.

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