Quali sono i segni del cancro alla prostata?

Cos'è il cancro alla prostata?

If you're a man, your chances of developing cancro alla prostata at some point in your life are around one in eight. Unfortunately, statistics show that men are also less likely than women to seek and receive healthcare.

Prostate cancer exclusively affects men because only those born male have the prostate gland.

Dr Tariq Mahmood, Consultant Physician and Gastroenterologists, explains: "The prostate, a gland underneath the bladder which helps produce semen, continues to grow as you get older. When your prostate cells grow in an uncontrollable way, it can result in prostate cancer."

Quali sono le cause del cancro alla prostata?

Gli scienziati non conoscono la causa esatta, ma ci sono fattori di rischio noti che aumentano la probabilità di sviluppare il cancro alla prostata.

Il cancro alla prostata è ereditario?

Family history is also a significant factor. Around 10% of men diagnosed with prostate cancer develop it due to hereditary prostate cancer syndrome. Family members pass down their genes to relatives, which instruct all the cells in the body what to do. If members of your family have a gene mutation - a random change in these instructions - then this can make cancer more likely.

Quali sono i segni del cancro alla prostata?

Quindi come puoi capire se hai il cancro alla prostata? La verità è che nella maggior parte dei casi, non puoi. Molti uomini non hanno sintomi, non mostrando alcun segno evidente di cancro alla prostata.

"Both the symptoms and treatment of prostate cancer can vary on a case-by-case basis," explains Mahmood. "Some people have no symptoms, and others don't require treatment if they do have prostate cancer. However, prostate cancer can also spread very quickly with serious effects."

Quali sono i sintomi del cancro alla prostata?

A volte, puoi individuare segni di cancro alla prostata. Questi segni variano a seconda di dove cresce il tumore.

"Again, these symptoms can be caused by other health issues, but if you notice a combination of these symptoms then you should contact a healthcare professional," cautions Mahmood.

If your doctor suspects prostate cancer, they may ask you to have a blood test to see if it is more likely. This is known as a prostate specific antigen test (PSA test). Another possible option is having a biopsia prostatica, una procedura in cui vengono utilizzati degli aghi per prelevare piccoli campioni di tessuto dalla prostata, che vengono poi analizzati. Questo può anche indicare quanto è probabile che il cancro si diffonda. La biopsia verrebbe eseguita in ospedale da uno specialista urologo.

Il cancro alla prostata è curabile?

On a positive note, this common cancer has a 78.9% survival rate for 10 years or more from diagnosis. In many cases, prostate cancer grows slowly, doesn't reduce your life expectancy, and requires no treatment.

However, sometimes cancers grow more aggressively and spread quickly to other parts of the body. This can be life-threatening, and healthcare experts use stages to determine how much the cancer cells have spread in order to determine the most appropriate Opzioni di trattamento per il cancro alla prostata.

Early-stage prostate cancer - which hasn't spread beyond the prostate - can be cured through treatment, although in some cases cancer returns months or years later. In the case of later stages, treatments may aim to slow or limit its growth, or to ease symptoms.