An introduction to prostate cancer

1. Introduction

Cancer has been an important part of human history, dating back to 1500 BC in Ancient Egypt. As most people would expect, the first cases of cancer were believed to have been inflicted by the gods themselves by such ancient civilizations, among other theories without a true scientific approach. Unfortunately for sufferers, it wasn’t until the 20th century that a real breakthrough in cancer research was established.

Today, we know that our body is made up of trillions of cells, which divide rapidly throughout our childhood, allowing us to grow; getting to divide only in case of injury or replacement of old cells when we reach adulthood. Cells can also divide uncontrollably, and all types of cancer occur in the different parts of the body where this occurs. A cell with damaged DNA, instead of repairing itself or dying as usual, continues to divide frantically, thus spreading its damaged DNA to all new cells: cancer cells.

2. The prostate

The prostate gland is a glans exclusive to the male and begins to grow while the individual is still in the womb, growing until adulthood. From there, it stays the same size or grows slowly, depending solely on the presence of male hormones, called androgens, the main one being the famous testosterone, made in the testicles; it is converted to dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which signals when the prostate should grow.

The prostate exists to produce part of the seminal fluid that supports sperm, while the rest is produced by the seminal vesicles located behind it. The urethra runs through the center of the prostate, and it can continue to grow as men age and can lead to a condition called benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH. This condition leads to problems passing urine through the prostate as it grows by pressing on the urethra. BPH is not cancer, and fortunately it does not lead to cancer, considering that it has become more and more common.

3. Prostate cancer

There are some types of cancer that can develop from cells found in the prostate, but most often it develops from cells in the glands and is called adenocarcinoma. Taking into account that it is found in the vast majority of prostate cancer findings, this paper analyzes only this particular type of prostate cancer.

Many older men, and even some young men, die from causes other than prostate cancer, only to be found to have had the condition for many years, showing that it does not always indicate its presence or weaken the individual in any way.

Prostate cancer can start as a precancerous condition, although this is not required among doctors. Some of these conditions are briefly described below:

A. Prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN)

Nearly 50% of all men have PIN by the age of 50, but some men begin to show this condition as young adults, even though it does not essentially lead to prostate cancer. Men with this condition show changes in the appearance of the cells of their glans penis under a microscope. The difference with cancer cells is that here they do not seem to be invading other sections of the prostate. There are two types of PIN, low grade and high grade, depending on the abnormal appearance of the cells. The high-grade PIN presents as a more abnormal type than the low-grade PIN. There is no evidence of a connection between low-grade PIN and prostate cancer; High-grade PIN, on the other hand, has a 20-30% chance of being related to cancer in another section of the patient’s prostate.

b. Proliferative Inflammatory Atrophy (PIA)

When performing a prostate biopsy, another condition that can be discovered is PIA. It is believed that it is sometimes directly related to high grade PIN or even cancer. In this condition, the cells of the gland appear smaller than normal, as well as inflammatory processes.

4. Treatment options

Prostate cancer grows very slowly in most cases, but once it begins to spread outside the prostate, it can be deadly as there is no cure. However, there is a chance that it will be controlled so that the individual may have around five or more years to live. In its early stages, it can be dealt with with great chances of total removal.

The doctor is the one who decides which treatment is appropriate for each specific case. Men who must undergo treatment should even consider a second opinion before making a decision. You have to deliberate many things before choosing; For example, prostate cancer that can be found only within the prostate usually only needs minor surgery or radiation to be fully cured. However, the result of such invasive techniques can sometimes outweigh their benefits, especially in the early stages of prostate cancer; in such cases, occasionally treatment consists of doing nothing and waiting until it becomes threatening. On the other hand, treatment for the late stages of prostate cancer can include all of the above or a combination of hormone therapy, radiation, and, rarely, chemotherapy, often unfortunately with significantly low success rates.

The best chance for a cure seems to remain early detection so that the right decisions can be made with the least harmful side effects; at least until significant progress can be made. Fortunately, many scientists are working around the clock investigating improved techniques to improve the success of therapy in advanced cancers.

Improvements in therapy will come from a better understanding of why cancer cells grow and how to stop tumor growth and the spread of cancer.