Prostate Cancer

BACKGROUND

Anatomy

The prostate gland produces most of the liquid part of the semen in which the sperm are carried. The gland is located just below the bladder above the base of the penis. Directly behind the prostate gland is the rectum. The prostate gland itself is approximately the size of a walnut (30 cc) in the young adult male. As men grow older the prostate tends to grow larger (benign prostatic hypertrophy).

Epidemiology

Cancer of the prostate is extremely common; luckily, many men who have prostate cancer never suffer any ill effects. This is because prostate cancer is often an indolent (slow growing) process which men die “of” and not “from.”

However, as it is a common cancer in cases where it does progress, it represents a significant cause of death in this country. Approximately 40, 000 men die of prostate cancer. It is believed that many of those deaths each year could have been prevented if the cancer had been caught early enough and treated effectively.

The causes of prostate cancer are not well-understood. There is no single substance which has been proven to cause the development of this disease. There is some evidence that a typical “western” diet of red meat and fat may predispose to some extent, although prostate cancer is seen in all parts of the world. There is no evidence that heredity or sexual activity play much of a role in the development of prostate cancer.