Nuclear Oncology

Archive for the ‘Prostat Cancer’ Category

The blood test for prostate specific antigen (PSA, for its acronym in English) is often done to screen men for prostate cancer. Because these tests, most prostate cancers are now found before they cause any symptoms.

The symptoms listed below may occur with prostate cancer (most of the time these symptoms are caused by other prostate problems that are not cancer):

Delay or slowness in initiating urination
Dribbling or leaking urine, most often after urination
Slow urine stream
Straining to urinate or may not be able to empty all the urine
Blood in the urine or semen
Bone pain or tenderness, most often in the lumbar and pelvic bones (only when the cancer has spread)
Signs and tests:

The prostate biopsy is the only test that can confirm the diagnosis. The prostate tissue viewed under a microscope. The results of the biopsy informnan using the Gleason grade and Gleason score.

The Gleason score corresponds to how aggressive it might be prostate cancer. He graduated tumors on a scale of 1 to 5, based on how different are the normal tissue cells.

Often, more than a Gleason score is present within the same tissue sample. The degree is therefore used to create a Gleason score, adding the two most prevalent grades together (a scale of 2 to 10). The higher the Gleason score, the greater the likelihood that the cancer has spread beyond the prostate gland:

Scores of 2 to 4: low-grade cancer
Scores of 5 to 7: intermediate-grade cancer (or half). Most prostate cancers fall into this category.
Scores of 8 to 10: high-grade cancer cells (poorly differentiated)
There are two reasons for the physician to perform a biopsy of the prostate:

His PSA blood test is high. See also: prostate specific antigen
A rectal examination may show a large prostate or a hard, irregular surface. Because PSA testing, prostate cancer is diagnosed less frequently during a rectal exam.
The PSA blood test is also used to monitor cancer after treatment. Often, PSA levels begin to rise before there are any symptoms. An abnormal DRE may be the only sign of prostate cancer (even if the PSA is normal).

Cancer is cancer that starts in the prostate gland. The prostate is a small structure the size of a walnut that is part of the male reproductive tract and surrounds the urethra, the tube that carries urine outside the body.

Causes:

Prostate cancer is the third most common cause of cancer death in men of all ages and is the most common cause of cancer deaths in men over 75 years of age. This cancer is rarely found in men younger than 40 years of age.

People at risk include:

Black men, who are also likely to have cancer at all ages
Men over 60 years
Men who have a father or brother with prostate cancer
Others at risk include:

Men exposed to Agent Orange
Men who abuse alcohol
Farmers
Men who consume a diet high in fat, especially animal fat
Tire plant workers
Painters
Men who have been exposed to cadmium
The lowest number of cases occurs in Japanese men living in Japan (this benefit is lost after a generation of living in the United States) and those who do not eat meat (vegetarians).

A common problem in almost all men as they age is the enlargement of the prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH). This problem does not increase your risk of prostate cancer.