Prostate Flashcards
Median age for prostate cancer:
70 years
Etiology of prostate cancer
Race
- African American males have a 60% higher incidence rate compared to caucasian males
- More common in western worlds compared to Asia
Family history
- The relative risk if affected brothers: 3.4
- The relative risk of affected fathers: 2.2
- Men with a family history of prostate cancer typically present at a younger age
Age
- <44 years incidence approaches 0
- 45-54 years incidence: 8.6%
- 55-64 years incidence: 28%
- 75-74 years incidence: 36.1%
- 74-84 years incidence: 22.0%
Diet
- A high-fat diet and red meat may increase the risk
- Soy, vitamin A and betacarotene may be protective
Hormonal influence
- Low testosterone reduces the risk
Genetics
- Hereditary prostate cancer accounts for approximately 10% of all cancer cases
- Possible genetic hypothesis include x-linked or recessive inheritance
Local spread of prostate cancer
- Extension through the prostatic capsule
- Seminal vesicle invasion
- Bladder invasion
- Rectal invasion
Lymph spread from the prostate
- periprostatic and obturator nodes
- external iliac, hypogastric, common iliac, and periaortic nodes
7% of patients have involvement of presacral nodes with no evidence of external iliac and hypogastric nodes
5-25% of patients have metastases to para-aortic nodes.
The natural history of prostate cancer
Untreated prostate cancer can lead to a myriad of problems:
- obstructive &/or irritative urinary symptoms
- hematuria (blood in the urine) or hematospermia (presence of blood in the sperm)
- rectal pain or bleeding
- painful bone metastasis
- neurological pain or weakness from compressive bone or soft tissue metastasis
- lower extremity swelling and edema from pelvic adenopathy
Cell classification for prostate cancer
- 95% are adenocarcinoma
- neuroendocrine and ductal carcinomas rarely occur
Location of prostate cancer
Peripheral zone tumours account for 80-85% of all tumours.
Transition zone tumours account for 10-15% of all tumours. Site of origin for benign prostate hyperplasia.
Central zone tumoours account for 5-10% of all tumours
Apex tumours account for 50-80% of all tumours
Gleason pattern 1
- Well-differentiated
- Uniform epithelium
- Oval nuclei
- Pale cytoplasm and rare mitotic figures
* not really used Gleeson score starts at 3
Gleason pattern 2
- well-differentiated glandular pattern
- more intervening stroma between glands
* not really used Gleason score starts at 3
Gleason pattern 3
- Moderately differentiated glandular pattern
- Distinctly infiltrative margins
Gleason pattern 4
- Poorly differentiated glandular pattern
- Irregular masses of neoplastic glands
Gleason pattern 5
- Poorly differentiated/anaplastic glandular pattern
- Only occasional gland formation
- Sheets of tumour cells, mitosis, cellular atypia
Gleason score
The combination of the two most common patterns observed in the tissue sample.
Ex.
3+4 = 7
4+3 = 7 but worse because 4 is more common then three
Signs and symptoms of prostate cancer
Most asymptomatic at presentation usually detected with screening PSA or DRE
Possible urinary or rectal function
DRE
Digital rectal exam
Superficial and deep palpation is indicated
Firmness or hardness is consistent with cancer
Cysts are typically smooth, small and mobile
Rectal mass will require further evaluation
PSA
Prostate-specific antigen: a specific protein in the blood that is produced by the prostate
PSA levels
In general 4 ng/L, although as patients get older this number increases to account for increasing prostate size due to benign hypertrophy.
For a 49-year-old man, a PSA level of 2.5ng/L is considered good
For a 70-year-old man, a PSA level of 6.5ng/L is considered at low risk for prostate cancer.