Prostate cancer

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Male reproductive anatomy

Male urinary tract

BPH

Prostate cancer

PSA blood test

Prostatectomy - series

TURP - series

Overview

Symptoms

Treatment

Prevention

Prostate cancer

Alternative Names:

Cancer - prostate

Symptoms:

With the advent of PSA testing, most prostate cancers are now found before they cause symptoms. Additionally, while most of the symptoms listed below can be associated with prostate cancer, they are more likely to be associated with non-cancerous conditions.

Urinary hesitancy (delayed or slowed start of urinary stream)
Urinary dribbling, especially immediately after urinating
Urinary retention
Pain with urination
Pain with ejaculation
Lower back pain
Pain with bowel movement

Additional symptoms that may be associated with this disease:

Signs and tests:

A rectal exam often reveals the hard, irregular surface of an enlarged prostate.

Testing considerations:

PSA (prostate specific antigen, a blood test) may be elevated, although other conditions such as BPH can cause the PSA to rise.
Free PSA may be more specific in differentiating BPH from prostate cancer.
Urinalysis may reveal blood in the urine.
Urine or prostatic fluid cytology may reveal atypical cells.
A prostate biopsy confirms the diagnosis.
CT scans may be performed to rule out metastasis (spread of the cancer).
A bone scan may be performed to rule out metastasis.
Chest x-ray may be performed to rule out metastasis.

A newer test called AMACR is more sensitive for determining the presence of prostate cancer than the PSA test and may soon be more widely used to diagnose disease.

Review Date: 8/3/2004
Reviewed By: Marcia S. Brose, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Hematology/Oncology, The University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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