Prostate Cancer
Cancer of the prostate is a common disorder which is increasing in incidence. Until the last decade or so it was mainly a disorder of elderly men, while now it is appearing in a more aggressive form in men in their fifties. It usually arises in cells on the outside of the prostate, and since these are glandular cells it produces a cancer called an adenocarcinoma. It may cause symptoms similar to those caused by benign enlargement - reduction in urine flow with poor stream, hesitancy, frequency and post urination dribbling - or the spread of the disease may present itself with symptoms such as back pain.
The stage of the disease may be assessed both by examination of the prostate (using a finger, ultrasound and biopsy) and the measurement in the blood of a chemical called prostate specific antigen (PSA), which is produced only by cells from the prostate, and which is elevated in cases of prostate cancer. Treatment may involve surgery, radiotherapy and, since this is a tumour which may be dependent on the male hormone testosterone, drugs which oppose the action or production of testosterone.
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