Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer to be found in elderly men in the UK. Over 30,000 men in the UK alone are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year and prostate cancer has overtaken lung cancer to become the most common cancer for men in the UK. Prostate cancer is the second biggest cause of death from cancer in men in the UK with around 10,000 deaths each year. More than 80 percent of cases are diagnosed in men over 60.¹

Figure 1.1: The male reproductive system

What is the prostate?

The prostate is one of the male sex glands, though its exact function is uncertain. The other major sex glands in men are the testes and the seminal vesicles. Together, these glands secrete the fluids that make up semen.
The prostate is about the size of a walnut. It lies just below the urinary bladder and surrounds the upper part of the urethra. The urethra is the tube that carries urine from the bladder and semen from the sex glands out through the penis.
As one of a man's sex glands, the prostate is affected by male sex hormones (androgens). These hormones stimulate the activity of the prostate and the growth of new cells to replace prostate cells as they wear out.
The major androgen is testosterone, which is produced by the testes, but androgens are also produced by the adrenal glands.

What is prostate cancer?

Prostate cancer is a malignant tumour, which arises within the prostate gland. Compared with other types of cancer, prostate cancer is relatively slow growing, however if left untreated, the cancer may grow outwards and spread to organs and tissue close to the prostate.
Cells may also break off from the cancer and spread (in the process of metastasis) to other parts of the body, such as the lymph nodes and bones, especially the bones of the hip and lower back.
The prognosis of prostate cancer is variable and dependent upon the extent of the tumour at diagnosis. 10 percent of patients may die within six months of diagnosis but 10 percent survive 10 years or more.