Prostate Cancer

Overview

Most prostate cancers are adenocarcinomas arising in the peripheral zone of the prostate gland. They are slow-growing and do not cause any symptoms for most of the patients

 

What are the signs and symptoms?

 

Symptoms for prostate cancer usually result in problems associated with urination, such as:

• Needing to urinate more frequently, often during the night
• Difficulty in starting to urinate (hesitancy)
• Weak flow when urinating
• Feeling that bladder has not emptied fully
• Dribbling urine after complete urination
• Symptoms that the cancer may have spread include bone and back pain, loss of appetite, pain in the testicles and unexplained weight loss

Treatment options

The treatment of cancer often varies according to the degree and type of cancer affected. Different treatment options will depend on whether the cancer is within the prostate gland (localised); has spread outside of the prostate (locally advanced), or had spread to other parts of the body (advanced). There are many options available for prostate cancer treatment in India which might be used at different times depending on the cancer stage and current health state of the patient.

• Watchful Waiting or Active Surveillance – In many cases, prostate cancer grows slowly and therefore immediate medical intervention may not be required. Watchful waiting or active surveillance approach is applicable for low grade prostate cancers.
• Surgery
  • If cancer has not spread outside the prostate gland, radical prostatectomy is performed, in which a surgeon removes the entire prostate gland along with the tissues around it.
  • Surgery (orchidectomy) is also done for surgical castration before giving anti androgen therapy
• Radiation Therapy Radiation therapy can be divided into external beam radiation and brachytherapy (internal radiation). In external radiation therapy, high-energy x-ray beams are directed at a tumour from outside the body.
• Hormone Therapy This therapy is used for reducing the level of male hormones (androgens) as well as restraining them from affecting the prostate cancer cells. It is also called Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT) and Androgen Suppression Therapy. Lower androgen levels lead to shrinkage in the size of the prostate cancer and restrict their growth.
• Chemotherapy Chemotherapy is used for advanced and for metastatic prostate cancer
• Vaccination Sipuleucel-T (Provenge) Is a cancer vaccination given to boost the body’s immunity system to attack the prostate cancer cells.
• Radioisotope Therapy Prostate cancer spreads mainly to bones and sometimes in old age the presentation is that of bone pain or fracture. In such cases, Radio isotope therapy like Strontium or Samarium to bone helps to relieve bone metastatic pain