Prostate cancer

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What is it about ?

The prostate is a gland the size of a chestnut; it is located under the bladder. Only men have a prostate. The urethra starts from the bladder and passes through the prostate and penis before opening to the outside. The prostate produces the fluid in which sperm swim and which is expelled through the urethra during ejaculation.

In prostate cancer, malignant cells develop in the prostate. Usually the tumor grows very slowly, and the man will never show symptoms. More men die of prostate cancer than men die of prostate cancer.

What is its frequency?

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men; it almost always occurs after the age of 60. The risk is two to three times higher if your father or brother has prostate cancer.

Among men over 80, 9% of those who see a general practitioner have prostate cancer.1 However, many cases go unnoticed. During autopsies, prostate cancer is found in 70 to 80% of men over 80 years old.

Over 90% of men who have prostate cancer without metastasis still live for more than ten years. In the event of metastasis, the life expectancy is shorter.

How to recognize it?

Most often, prostate cancer does not cause symptoms. In the rare cases that there are symptoms, these are similar to those seen with benign prostatic hypertrophy, for example:

  • urinate frequently;
  • weak urine stream, or urine stream that stops;
  • feeling that the bladder is not completely emptied.

In the event of metastases, these can cause symptoms. The most common are pain in the bones, especially in the ribs and in the spine.

How is the diagnosis made?

Clinical examination and blood test

If you are over 50 and have the symptoms mentioned above, you may have prostate disease. The doctor will perform the following examinations:

  • a anal examination (Rectal touch) ;
    • This way, he can feel the size of the prostate and check for nodules (small balls).
  • a blood test to determine the rate of PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen).
    • An increased PSA can indicate prostate cancer, but often has another cause, such as inflammation or benign prostatic hyperplasia.
Additional tests

Depending on the symptoms, the examination and the results of the blood test, the doctor decides whether or not to refer you to a urologist. The urologist is a specialist in the urinary tract and the sexual organs. He can perform the following examinations:

  • a ultrasound prostate;
  • a biopsy, that is, he takes a piece of tissue for a more in-depth analysis;
  • a MRI prostate cancer to diagnose prostate cancer and see how it has spread locally.
Prostate cancer screening

A blood test (PSA level) can detect prostate cancer long before the first symptoms appear. Routine screening for prostate cancer is not recommended, however, in elderly men who do not present with symptoms. In fact, at the early stage, it is usually not possible to predict whether it is an aggressive tumor with rapid growth. Usually, it is a very slow growing tumor that a man will never suffer from and for which intervention is not necessary.

Routine screening for prostate cancer in all men over a certain age could save a few lives. But a false diagnosis of prostate cancer would then be made in a large number of men. This false diagnosis is very stressful. In addition, these men would be subjected to very heavy treatments, which could cause irreversible side effects, while they do not need these treatments since they do not have prostate cancer.

What can you do ?

The risk factors for developing prostate cancer are:

  • consumption of fat in large amounts in the diet;
  • obesity;
  • smoking.

The risk is probably reduced if you exercise enough.

What can your doctor do?

Several treatments are possible for prostate cancer. Depending on your age, stage and extent of cancer, you and your doctor will decide which treatment is best for you.

The possible treatments are:

  • watchful waiting, with or without regular monitoring of blood values ​​and ultrasound;
  • surgical removal of the prostate
  • irradiation (external or internal) of the prostate;
  • administration of drugs that inhibit male hormones (often by means of injections);
  • removal of the testicles.

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