Prostate cancer occurs when cells in the prostate grow out of control. The prostate is a gland in men that helps produce fluid that goes into semen. The prostate is located in front of the rectum and just below the bladder.
Prostate cancer is the second-most common cancer among men (skin cancer is the most common). Because of routine screening tests, prostate cancer is often detected early, before cancer has spread (metastasized) to other organs and it is not usually fatal. When detected early, there are various treatment options and a good chance of a cure.
Life expectancy for prostate cancer is often expressed in 5-year survival rates, that is, how many people will be alive 5 years after diagnosis.
- For men with localized prostate cancer, where there is no sign cancer has spread outside the prostate, and regional prostate cancer, in which cancer has spread outside the prostate to nearby structures or lymph nodes only, the 5-year survival rate is nearly 100% and many men diagnosed at these earlier stages can have a normal life expectancy.
- Ten years after diagnosis, the average prostate cancer patient has a 98% survival rate.
- Fifteen years after diagnosis, the average prostate cancer patient has a 95% survival rate.
- Once the prostate cancer has spread (metastasized) to other organs such as the lungs, liver, or bones, the 5-year survival rate drops to 30%.
What Are Symptoms of Prostate Cancer?
Early-stage prostate cancer often causes no symptoms. As the disease progresses, symptoms of prostate cancer may include:
- Problems urinating
- Frequent urge to urinate, especially at night
- A slow or weak urinary stream
- Blood in the urine or semen
- Trouble getting an erection (erectile dysfunction, or ED)
- Loss of bladder or bowel control from cancer pressing on the spinal cord
- Pain in the hips, back (spine), chest (ribs), or other areas from cancer that has spread to bones
- Weakness or numbness in the legs or feet
What Is the Treatment for Prostate Cancer?
Treatment for prostate cancer depends on whether cancer is in part or all of the prostate if it has spread (metastasized) to other parts of the body, and the age and overall health of the patient, and may include one or more of the following:
- Watchful waiting (active surveillance)
- Surgery: removal of the entire prostate and some nearby tissue
- Radiation therapy
- Brachytherapy (internal radiation)
- External beam radiation
- Cryotherapy (also called cryosurgery or cryoablation)
- Hormone therapy
- Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT)
- Orchiectomy (surgical castration)
- Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonists (also called LHRH analogs or GnRH agonists)
- LHRH antagonists
- Chemotherapy
- Immunotherapy
- Cancer vaccine (doesn’t stop prostate cancer from growing, but may help men live several months longer)
- Immune checkpoint inhibitors
- PD-1 inhibitor
- Targeted therapy
- PARP (poly(ADP)-ribose polymerase) inhibitors
- Treatments for prostate cancer spread to bones
- Bisphosphonates: zoledronic acid (Zometa)
- Denosumab (Xgeva)
- Corticosteroids
- External radiation therapy
- Radiopharmaceuticals
- Surgery
- Kyphoplasty
- Pain medicines
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