The Risk of prostate cancer

Prostate cancer disease

Prostate cancer - the most common form of cancer in men is Prostate cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death. The Main risk factors include age (incidence increases in men over the age of 65 years). It is more prevalent in the western world and about 10% of cases can be linked to family history. The recurrance Rate of the prostate cancer is high.

Mostly, the Prostate cancer is a continuum; progressing through localized, locally advanced, advanced and hormone-refractory stages In general it is a slow growing cancer. He is primarily under hormonal control i.e. testosterone. The choice of treatments which include watchful waiting, surgery (prostatectomy), radiotherapy, hormonal therapy and chemotherapy are dependent on the stage of disease.

1. Most important, that If detected early, using PSA determination, DRE examination and biopsies, and treated appropriately, survival rates are excellent.

2. The most critical focus for the treatment of prostate cancer is to treat those cancers where it is necessary.

3. The Decisions about the best management of prostate cancer can be very complex and depend upon the:

- Pathology of the cancer (unlike other cancers, prostate cancer often progresses very slowly)
- The impact that treatment can have on quality of life, including sexual activity
- Stage of the disease (non-metastatic (localized or locally advanced), metastatic or hormone refractory)
- Age and general health of the patients at diagnosis
- Patient’s preference for treatment
- PSA at diagnosis

4. The treatment options for prostate cancer are:

- Deferred treatment often called ‘watchful waiting’ or 'active surveillance'
- Surgery – Radical Prostatectomy
- Radiotherapy – External Beam and/or Brachytherapy
-Hormonal (endocrine) therapy – Androgen Ablation e.g. anti-androgens, medical castration (LHRHa) or surgical castration
- Chemotherapy
- Palliative Therapy e.g. chemotherapy
- Investigational Therapies

Prostate Cancer Recurrence Rates

Prostate cancer is now detected at earlier stages due to heightened awareness and improved screening techniques. Despite definitive therapy, cancer cells may remain and can go undetected for years until they develop into metastatic disease. The risk of recurrence is high, suggesting there is a need to improve treatment approaches. Therefore, it is important to predict pathological stage and risk of disease recurrence early, so that appropriate treatment and/or monitoring can be initiated. The result's of all new treatments will bring us in the future the chance of a lower prostate recurrance.