overview of prostate cancer Flashcards
describe the prostate gland
- walnut-sized gland located behind the base of the penis, in - front of the rectum and below the bladder
- surrounds the urethra
what is the primary function of the prostate gland?
produce seminal fluid, the liquid in semen that protects, supports, and helps transport sperm
what are risk factors for prostate cancer?
- AGE
- race (more common in african american men)
- family history
- nationality (more common in N America and NW Europe)
- genetics (BRCA1+2 gene esp)
- diet, exercise, obesity
1:___ men in the UK are diagnosied in the UK with prostate cancer
1:8
prostate cancer survival?
84% of men survive for 10 or more years (prostate cancer v prevalent but survival rates are good)
what are symtpoms of prostate cancer?
> local (LUTS = low urinary tract symptoms) — obstructive, irritative
metastatic — pain etc
systemic — fatigue, weight loss
describe some obstructive LUTS
- feel as though not emptying bladder properly
- terminal dribbling
- get up to pee lots during the night
- not good flow of urine
describe some irritative LUTS
- a lot of urianry frequency
- discomfort
- possible blood in urine
how is prostate cancer diagnosed?
- history
- DRE = digital rectal exam
- PSA = prostate specific antigen
- multiparametric MRI
- biopsy
what can increase PSA?
- BPH = benign prostatic hypertrophy
- age (increasing)
- prostatitis
- ejaculation
- DRE
what can decrease PSA?
- drugs — finasteride/dutasteride
- obesity
- herbal preparations
screening for prostate cancer
- no UK screening programme
- screening can lead to over diagnosis, over treatment
- consider targeted PSA screening in high risk populations eg. African American, strong family history
describe multiparametric MRI
> T1 and t2 images
functional imaging
—> dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) DWI
—> diffusion weighted imaging (DWI)
describe prostate biopsy
> transrectal ultrasound guided (TRUS) biopsy
—> biopsy taken throguh the rectal wall under ultrasound guidance
—> about 12 samples taken
> more recently, template biopsy
—> transperineal
—> multiple samples taken
—> can potential target areas seen on MRI that you cant reach via transrectal approach
reasons for doing a prostate biopsy
- type of tumour
- grade of tumour
- percentage of tumour
- T Stage of cancer
what type of tumour are the vast majority of prostate cancers?
adenocarcinoma
what is the grading score for tumour grade of prostate cancer?
gleason score
descirbe the gleason score
- grading system used to define aggressiveness
- score of 3-5 are considered cancerous
- addition of 2 most common scores = Gleason score
2 scores out of 5 to give a score out of 10
lowest score can get it 3+3 (below is benign)
highest score is 5+5 = 10
descirbe grade group 1
- gleason score 3+3
- 96% 5 years RFS