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Prostate cancer can strike fear in even the strongest of men. Just ask the more than 230,000 men who will be diagnosed with the disease this year. It is one of the most serious health risks men face today. Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men over age 50 and rates second in male cancer deaths. Although the incidence of prostate cancer increases with age, this cancer can strike young men as well. African-American men are at a 66 percent greater risk for prostate cancer than Caucasians.

This cancer often strikes without symptoms. The good news is that when detected early, prostate cancer patients have a nearly 100 percent survival rate.

Researchers do not know all of the functions of the prostate gland. However, it is known that the prostate gland plays an important role in both sexual function and urinary function. It is common for the prostate gland to become enlarged as a man ages, and it is likely that, as a man, you may encounter some type of prostate problem in your lifetime.

Many clinical problems associated with the prostate gland—which are quite common and may happen to men of all ages—include the following:

• Prostatism
• Prostatitis
• Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)
• Impotence
• Urinary incontinence

For more information about prostate cancer, check out the following:

Facts about the prostate gland
Function of the prostate gland
Staging of prostate cancer
Grading of prostate cancer
The Gleason System for grading cancer

Facts about the prostate gland

The prostate gland is about the size of a walnut and surrounds the neck of a man’s bladder and urethra—the tube that carries urine from the bladder. It is partly muscular and partly glandular, with ducts opening into the prostatic portion of the urethra. It is made up of three lobes: a center lobe with one lobe on each side. Prostate cancer is a malignancy that develops in the prostate gland.

Function of the prostate gland

As part of the male reproductive system, the prostate gland’s primary function is to secrete a slightly alkaline fluid that forms part of the seminal fluid, a fluid that carries sperm. During male climax (orgasm), the muscular glands of the prostate help to propel the prostate fluid, in addition to sperm that was produced in the testicles, into the urethra. The semen then leaves the body out through the tip of the penis during ejaculation.

Staging of prostate cancer

When prostate cancer is diagnosed, tests will be performed to determine how much cancer is present, and if the cancer has spread from the prostate to other parts of the body. This is called staging, and is an important step toward planning a treatment program.

As defined by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the stages of prostate cancer include the following:

Stage I	Tumor cells are found in less than five percent of prostate tissue removed, and the cells are not very aggressive in nature sometimes referred to as stage A
Stage II	Tumor cells are found in less than five percent of prostate tissue removed, and the cells are more aggressive in nature Or the tumor is larger in size, but is confined to the prostate gland sometimes referred to as Stage B
Stage III	the tumor has grown through the capsule which surrounds the prostate gland, and may involve seminal vesicles (tubes that carry sperm) sometimes referred to as Stage C
Stage IV	the tumor has spread to other structures beyond the seminal vesicles to any other organ or structure sometimes referred to as Stage D1 or D2
Recurrent	the cancer has come back (recurred) after treatment; it may recur in the prostate or in another part of the body sometimes referred to as Stage D3

Grading of prostate cancer

Another step in the diagnostic process is grading the cancer cells—taking a measurement of how fast the tumor is likely to grow and spread. Grading is done in the laboratory with cells taken from the prostate gland during biopsy. The cancer cells are measured by how closely they look like normal cells.

The Gleason System for grading cancer

According to the National Cancer Institute, one way of grading prostate cancer is the Gleason System. This grading system is based on a number range from 2 to 10. The lower the number, the lower the grade, and the slower the cancer is growing. The higher the Gleason score, the higher the grade of the tumor. High-grade tumors grow more quickly than low-grade tumors, and are more likely to spread to other parts of the body.

• Grades under 4 mean that the cancer cells look similar to your normal cells, and the cancer is likely to be less aggressive.

• Grades 5 to 7 are in the intermediate range. This means that the cancer cells do not look like normal cells, and are more likely to be aggressive and grow faster.

• Grades 8 to 10 indicate that the cancer cells are more likely to be very aggressive in growth.

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