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Dana-Farber's Mark Pomerantz, MD, talks about the signs and symptoms of prostate cancer, including information about risk factors, PSA screening, and more.
Prostate cancer is a disease in which cancer forms in the tissues of the prostate, a male gland just below the bladder and in front of the rectum. Prostate cancer is rare in men younger than 50 years of age, and the chance of developing prostate cancer increases as men get older. In the United States, a man has a one in five chance of being diagnosed with prostate cancer in his lifetime.
Risk factors for prostate cancer may include:
Symptoms may not appear during the early stages of prostate cancer, and most symptoms of prostate cancer vary from person to person. Having these symptoms does not mean you have prostate cancer.
Common prostate cancer signs and symptoms may include:
Some of the symptoms listed above may occur with a condition called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). BPH occurs when the prostate enlarges and interferes with urine flow or sexual function. BPH is not cancer, but surgery may be needed to correct it. The symptoms of BPH or other problems in the prostate mimic the symptoms of prostate cancer.
Learn details about how we diagnose prostate cancer.
Treatment plans depend largely on the health and future reproductive wishes of the patient. Other factors, such as the expected side effects of treatment and previous treatment for prostate cancer, may alter the available treatment options.
Treatments for prostate cancer may include:
Learn details about how we treat prostate cancer.
Most men diagnosed with prostate cancer survive the disease. However, the chance of recovery (prognosis) depends on:
Read our Insight blog for information and inspiration about prostate cancer treatment at Dana-Farber.
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Prostate Cancer Research Links Spread of Disease to Epigenetics
Matthew Freedman, MD, details a prostate cancer study in Nature Genetics that links metastasis to the revival of a molecular program that went dormant during fetal development. Story published on July 20th, 2020 in Nature Genetics.