Prostate Cancer Facts: Diagnosis and Treatment Options
Diagnosing Prostate Cancer
If your healthcare provider suspects you have prostate cancer, he or she will suggest a biopsy to be sure. A biopsy
is the removal of tissue sample to be tested under a microscope.
Most doctors perform a core needle biopsy to obtain a prostate cancer diagnosis. During a core needle biopsy, the doctor will insert a needle into the prostate gland. When the needle is removed, it brings with it a sample of the prostate gland tissue. Your doctor will remove several tissue samples and send them to a laboratory to either confirm or rule out prostate cancer. The pathologist
who reviews the tissue samples will characterize and grade
the cancer.
Not all biopsies confirm the presence of cancer. If a biopsy does not indicate prostate cancer but your doctor strongly suspects you do have cancer, another biopsy may be needed to determine if cancer is present.
After your doctor has determined that you have cancer in your prostate gland, he or she will perform other tests to determine the clinical Stage of the cancer and to find out if the cancer has metastasized
, or spread, to other areas of the body.
Prostate Cancer Treatment Options
Once you have been diagnosed with prostate cancer and your doctor knows the extent of your cancer, you and your doctor will discuss your treatment options and select the most appropriate option. There are many treatment options available, and the decision can be overwhelming. It is important to talk to your healthcare provider about any concerns you may have.
Prostate cancer treatment varies depending on how advanced your cancer is and other factors. Following is a brief summary of common treatment options available for prostate cancer. Your treatment may include one or a combination of these options.
- Watchful Waiting: Since prostate cancer tends to grow slowly, your doctor may recommend close monitoring of the cancer, without treatment like radiation or surgery. This is called "watchful waiting." If your cancer is small, not causing symptoms and expected to grow slowly, watchful waiting may be right for you. If you are young and healthy and your cancer is expected to grow quickly, your doctor probably will choose to treat your cancer right away rather than use watchful waiting. Discuss the pros and cons of watchful waiting with your doctor.
- Surgery: Surgically removing the whole prostate gland and some surrounding tissue is called radical prostatectomy
. This is a common prostate cancer treatment for men whose prostate cancer has not spread outside of the prostate gland. There are several ways to perform radical prostatectomy. Your doctor will help determine if surgery is best for you.
- Radiation Therapy: Radiation therapy
is a prostate cancer treatment that kills or shrinks cancer cells by using high-energy rays. The radiation may be done through the outside of the body (external radiation) or internally by having radioactive materials placed inside the prostate. You may receive radiation therapy if your prostate cancer is still inside the prostate gland or if it has spread only to nearby tissues. If your prostate cancer is advanced, radiation therapy may be used to help shrink the tumor and relieve symptoms.
Cryosurgery: Cryosurgery is the process of destroying the prostate gland through freezing. The doctor inserts probes, or needles, through the area between the scrotum and anus and then into the prostate. These probes contain cold gas that produces ice balls and destroys the prostate gland. Cryosurgery may be used in men with prostate cancer who have large prostate glands.
Cryosurgery usually is not used as initial treatment for prostate cancer because there are many unknowns about this treatment. However, sometimes cryosurgery is used when prostate cancer has reoccurred.
Hormonal Therapy: Hormonal therapy is used to help lower levels of male hormones (
androgens
), mainly testosterone. Androgens stimulate the growth of prostate cancer cells. Lowering androgen levels with hormonal therapy may help shrink the prostate cancer or slow its growth.
Hormonal therapy may be used for many reasons, and there are several ways hormonal therapy can be administered. Your doctor will help determine if hormonal therapy is right for you.
- Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy
is the use of drugs to help kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy may be administered in pill form or through a vein. Chemotherapy treatment may be chosen if your prostate cancer has spread, or if it is no longer responding to hormonal therapy. Studies have shown that the chemotherapy combination of the drugs Taxotere® (docetaxel) plus prednisone may help prolong the lives of men with advanced prostate cancer. Chemotherapy may have side effects
. Get Tips For Managing Chemotherapy Side Effects.
Treatment for Androgen-Independent Prostate Cancer
As you learned above in the chemotherapy discussion, sometimes prostate cancer becomes advanced and stops responding to hormonal therapy. When this happens, the cancer becomes androgen-independent prostate cancer, AIPC, (also called hormone-refractory
prostate cancer).
Chemotherapy typically is used to treat androgen-independent prostate cancer. A chemotherapy combination including the drugs Taxotere® plus prednisone has been shown to improve survival and decrease cancer pain in men with androgen-independent prostate cancer.
Learn more about Taxotere® treatment for androgen-independent prostate cancer in the About Taxotere® section of this site. Also, be sure to visit the Understanding Chemotherapy section for tips on managing chemotherapy side effects and more.
