Prostate Cancer: Symptoms and Causes

Signs and symptoms of prostate cancer

During the early stages of prostate cancer there are usually no symptoms. Most men at this stage find out they have prostate cancer after a routine check up or blood test. When symptoms do exist, they are usually one or more of the following:

 

The patient urinates more often

The patient gets up at night more often to urinate

He may find it hard to start urinating

He may find it hard to keep urinating once he has started

There may be blood in the urine

Urination might be painful

Ejaculation may be painful (less common)

Achieving or maintaining an erection may be difficult (less common).

If the prostate cancer is advanced the following symptoms are also possible:

 

Bone pain, often in the spine (vertebrae), pelvis, or ribs

The proximal part of the femur can be painful

Leg weakness (if cancer has spread to the spine and compressed the spinal cord)

Urinary incontinence (if cancer has spread to the spine and compressed the spinal cord)

Fecal incontinence (if cancer has spread to the spine and compressed the spinal cord).

Causes of prostate cancer

Nobody is really sure of what the specific causes are. There are so many possible factors, including age, race, lifestyle, medications, and genetics, to name a few.

 

1) Age

 

Age is considered as the primary risk factor. The older a man is, the higher is his risk. Prostate cancer is rare among men under the age of 45, but much more common after the age of 50.

 

2) Genetics

 

Statistics indicate that genetics is definitely a factor in prostate cancer risk. It is more common among certain racial groups - in the USA prostate cancer is significantly more common and also more deadly among Afro-Americans than White-Americans. A man has a much higher risk of developing cancer if his identical twin has it. A man whose brother or father had/had prostate cancer runs twice the risk of developing it, compared to other men.

 

Studies indicate that the two faulty genes - BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 - which are important risk factors for breast cancer and ovarian cancer, have also been implicated in prostate cancer risk.

 

In a study scientists found seven new sites in the human genome that are linked to men's risk of developing prostate cancer.

 

Faulty BRCA2 gene linked to aggressive form of prostate cancer - researchers at the The Institute of Cancer Research, UK, reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (April 2013 issue) that men who have inherited the faulty BRCA2 gene are more likely to have the faster-spreading type of prostate cancer. The scientists say these men should receive treatment immediately after diagnosis with surgery or radiation therapy, rather than receive the "watchful waiting" approach.

 

Senior author Ros Eeles wrote that experts have already known that those with the faulty BRCA2 gene have a higher risk of developing prostate cancer. This is the first large study to demonstrate that the faulty gene is also linked to a faster spread of the disease and poorer survival.

 

This new discovery will make some health authorities around the world rethink their policies and procedures. In the United Kingdom, the National Health Service offers the same prostate cancer treatment for both carriers and non-carriers of the faulty BRCA2 gene.

 

Prof. Eeles said "It must make sense to start offering affected men immediate surgery or radiotherapy, even for early-stage cases that would otherwise be classified as low-risk. We won't be able to tell for certain that earlier treatment can benefit men with inherited cancer genes until we've tested it in a clinical trial, but the hope is that our study will ultimately save lives by directing treatment at those who most need it."

 

3) Diet

 

fruits and vegetables

A review of diets indicated that the Mediterranean diet may reduce a person's chances of developing prostate cancer. Another study indicates that soy, selenium and green tea, offer additional possibilities for disease prevention - however, a more recent study indicated that combination therapy of vitamin E, selenium and soy does not prevent the progression from high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HGPIN) to prostate cancer. A diet high in vegetable consumption was found in a study to be beneficial.

 

A US pilot study on men with low risk prostate cancer found that following an intensive healthy diet and lifestyle regime focusing on low meat and high vegetable and fruit intake, regular exercise, yoga stretching, meditation and support group participation, can alter the way that genes behave and change the progress of cancer, for instance by switching on tumor killers and turning down tumor promoters.

 

Other studies have indicated that lack of vitamin D, a diet high in red meat may raise a person's chances of developing prostate cancer.

 

A study published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research suggests vitamin D deficiency may predict aggressive prostate cancer.

 

4) Medication

 

Some studies say there might be a link between the daily use of anti-inflammatory medicines and prostate cancer risk. A study found that statins, which are used to lower cholesterol levels, may lower a person's risk of developing prostate cancer.

 

5) Obesity

 

A study found a clear link between obesity and raised prostate cancer risk, as well as a higher risk of metastasis and death among obese people who develop prostate cancer.

 

6) Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)

 

Men who have had gonorrhea have a higher chance of developing prostate cancer, according to research from the University of Michigan Health System.

 

7) Agent Orange

 

Veterans exposed to Agent Orange have a 48% higher risk of prostate cancer recurrence following surgery than their unexposed peers, and when the disease comes back, it seems more aggressive, researchers say. Another study found that Vietnam War veterans who had been exposed to Agent Orange have significantly increased risks of prostate cancer and even greater risks of getting the most aggressive form of the disease as compared to those who were not exposed.

 

8) Enzyme PRSS3 linked to aggressive prostate cancer

 

Scientists from the Mayo Clinic, Florida, reported in Molecular Cancer Research that PRSS3, an enzyme, changes the environment of prostate cancer cells, making the cancer much more likely to metastasize.

 

Senior researcher, Evette Radisky, Ph.D., said "This molecule is a protease, which means it digests other molecules. Our data suggests PRSS3 activity changes the environment around prostate cancer cells - perhaps by freeing them from surrounding tissue - to promote malignancy and invasiveness. I don't think PRSS3 is the only factor involved in driving aggressive prostate cancer, but it may be significant for a certain subset of this cancer - the kind that is potentially lethal."

 

Recent developments on prostate cancer causes from MNT news

Chronic prostate inflammation tied to nearly double risk of prostate cancer

A study reported in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, finds that compared to men with no such signs, men with chronic inflammation in non-cancerous prostate tissue may have nearly double the risk of developing prostate cancer.

Vasectomy linked with aggressive prostate cancer risk

In the largest and most comprehensive study of its kind, researchers from Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, MA, find that vasectomy is associated with a small increased risk of prostate cancer, and a larger increased risk for advanced or lethal prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer: high cholesterol, triglyceride levels may raise risk of recurrence

Among men who have surgery for prostate cancer, those who have high total cholesterol and triglyceride levels - two types of fat found in blood - may be at increased risk of disease recurrence. This is according to a study published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

Western diet could be fatal for prostate cancer patients

A new study has suggested that following a Western diet - high in red and processed meats, refined grains and high-fat dairy products - could increase the risk of death for people with prostate cancer from both prostate cancer and all causes.

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