prostate cancer is a malignancy of the prostate gland, a walnut-sized organ located under the bladder in males. The prostate gland surrounds the urethra, which is the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the penis. The American Cancer Society estimates that 317,100 new cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed annually in the United States and that 41,400 men die from the disease each year. It is the second leading cause of cancer death after lung cancer in American men.
The specific causes and development of prostate cancer are still unknown, but several risk factors for the disease are known. The older you are, the higher chance of getting the disease is. Prostate cancer usually doesn’t develop before the age of 40 and is mostly found in men over the age of 65. It is common in North America affecting 15 percent of American men in their lifetimes and in northwestern Europe, but rare in South America, the Near East, and Africa. In America, black males suffer from the disease 37 percent more often than white males. Evidence links diets with a lot of animal fats with prostate cancer. One study found that human prostate cancer tumors grew only half as fast in mice with diets of 21 percent fat as in mice with diets of 40 percent fat. Diet differences are believed to explain why prostate cancer is 120 times greater in the United States than in China, where fatty foods are not part of the general diet.
The Research paper on Prostrate Cancer Prostate Men Diagnosed
Cancer Research Paper I chose to research Prostate cancer because someone I know has some of the symptoms of Prostate cancer. All of the tests have not been run as of yet, so the final prognosis has not been given. Prostate cancer is cancer that originates in the prostate gland, a male genital gland about the size of a walnut that is located in front of the rectum, behind the base of the penis, ...
Some foods seem to act as a shield against this disease. A nine-year study published in 1995 suggests that tomato products protect against prostate cancer, possibly because tomatoes are rich in a substance called lycopene. Lycopene is an antioxidant, a chemical that messes up the cellular process of oxidation. Too much cellular oxidation can be dangerous to a person’s health because it produces molecules called free radicals that increase the risk of cancer developing in body tissues.
Environmental factors, such as workplace exposures to cadmium, have also been associated with increased risk of prostate cancer. Family history plays another important role. Men whose fathers or brothers develop prostate cancer are more likely to develop the disease. Researchers are beginning to identify genetic markers of prostate cancer. For instance, hereditary prostate cancer (HPC1), a gene detected in 1996, appears to significantly predispose men to prostate cancer when inherited in a mutated form.
Symptoms and Diagnosis
The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test is the best tool currently available for detecting prostate cancer in its earliest and most curable stages. The test measures levels of prostate-specific antigen in the blood. Prostate cancer cells overproduce this protein, causing an increase of PSA levels in blood. The test, however, cannot distinguish between rises in PSA due to cancer and those related to other factors, such as infection.
Prostate cancer usually progresses slowly and produces no symptoms in its initial stages. Warning signs may eventually include difficult or painful urination; frequent urination, especially at night; and blood in the urine or semen. Pain in the lower back, pelvis, or upper thighs may signal that prostate cancer cells have spread to the ribs, pelvis, and other bones. All these symptoms, however, may have other causes, such as infection or prostate enlargement, which is a natural result of the aging process.
A physician will suspect prostate cancer if a nodule or other prostate irregularity is felt during a digital rectal examination, in which the physician uses a gloved finger to gently check the smoothness of the rectal lining. The discovery is usually followed by a biopsy, in which a tissue sample is removed from the prostate and examined under a microscope. The American Cancer Society recommends that men have an annual, digital rectal exam beginning at age 40. In addition, men 50 years and older should have an annual PSA test.
The Essay on Prostate Cancer 4
Cancer of the prostate is defined as a malignant tumor growth within the prostate gland. The purpose of the prostate gland is to surround the urethra, which is the tube within you urinary system that carries the urine from the bladder to the penis, the male sex organ. According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 180, 000 cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed in the United States. The ...
Recent advances indicate that screening tests for pre-cancerous conditions in the prostate will soon be available. These tests will be able to distinguish between cells with normal (DNA) and those with cancerous DNA. Such tests will let physicians predict the development of prostate cancer long before any cancerous cells can be detected.
