Prostate cancer and back pain

C

an back pain be a symptom of prostate cancer?

1.                  Other causes of back pain

2.                  Other symptoms of prostate cancer

3.                  Risk factors for prostate cancer

4.                  When to see a doctor

5.                  PSA tests

6.                  Diagnosis

7.                  Treatment

8.                  Takeaway

Chronic back pain can sometimes be a symptom of advanced prostate cancer. However, there are many other possible causes of back pain.

The prostate is a walnut-sized gland that sits below the bladder and wraps around the urethra. This gland is part of the male reproductive system and is involved in the production of semen.

According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), prostate cancer is the second most common type of cancer among American males, affecting 1 in 9 over the course of their lifetimes.

The outlook for people with prostate cancer is encouraging, particularly when doctors diagnose it early. For all stages of prostate cancer, the ACS report 5- and 10-year relative survival rates of 99 percent and 98 percent, respectively.

However, prostate cancer is still a leading cause of cancer death, so regular screenings and prompt attention to possible symptoms are very important.

In this article, we look at the link between back pain and prostate cancer. We also describe other causes of back pain and explore prostate cancer in detail, including its symptoms, risk factors, diagnosis, testing, and treatment.

Can back pain be a symptom of prostate cancer?

Prostate cancer cells may spread to a person's bones.

There can be a connection between back pain and prostate cancer, but back pain alone is not necessarily a sign of the disease.

In advanced prostate cancer, cancer cells spread beyond the prostate to other parts of the body. These cells usually spread to the bones first, and doctors refer to this as bone metastasis.

If prostate cancer spreads to the bones, it most often reaches the spine, ribs, and hips. This occurs in stage 4 prostate cancer, and it can cause pain. According to ZERO, an advocacy group, bone metastases will affect more than 60 percent of men with advanced prostate cancer.

Individuals with chronic back pain that has no obvious cause should see a physician for an evaluation.

Other causes of back pain

Back pain, particularly in the short term, is a very common medical complaint. Possible causes can include:

·         strains, sprains, and overexertion

·         injuries

·         damaged, ruptured, or deteriorating discs in the spine

·         spinal stenosis

·         pressure on the spinal nerves

·         sciatica

·         abnormalities of the spine, such as scoliosis

·         arthritis and other inflammatory diseases

·         kidney stones

·         infections

·         abdominal aortic aneurysms

Other symptoms of prostate cancer

Prostate cancer usually has no early warning signs. Because of this, many doctors and health authorities recommend screening men at risk.

When prostate cancer does cause symptoms, they may include:

·         a frequent, urgent need to urinate

·         nocturia, or needing to urinate frequently during the night

·         reduced urine flow

·         trouble starting or stopping the flow of urine

·         pain with urination or ejaculation

·         blood in the urine or semen

However, these can also be symptoms of other conditions, including:

·         benign prostatic hyperplasia, which is enlargement of the prostate and very common in older men

·         prostatitis, which is inflammation of the prostate

Neither of these conditions involves cancer, but it is still important to see a doctor for evaluation and treatment.

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Risk factors for prostate cancer

An unhealthful diet may be a risk factor for prostate cancer.

One of the most significant risk factors is aging. According to the ACS, this type of cancer is rareamong males aged under 40 years. The average age at diagnosis is around 66 years old.

Another risk factor is ethnicity, but doctors do not understand why. The ACS state that prostate cancer is more common in African-American males and in those from the Caribbean with African descendants.

The disease is less common in Asian-American and Hispanic, or Latino, males than in non-Hispanic whites.

Having a family member with the disease may also increase a person's chances of developing it.

Other risk factors may include:

·         an unhealthful diet

·         obesity

·         exposure to certain chemicals

When to see a doctor

Prostate cancer often causes no symptoms in the early stages. According to the National Cancer Institute, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening is the most common method of detecting this cancer in the United States.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommend that males ages 55–69 discuss the risks and benefits of prostate cancer screening with their doctors.

People who have regular back pain and are concerned about the risk of prostate cancer should also speak to their doctors.

Anyone who has already been diagnosed with prostate cancer and who begins to experience chronic back pain should see a doctor as soon as possible. Unexplained back pain can indicate that the cancer has spread.

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When to have PSA tests

The prostate gland produces a protein called PSA. Levels of this protein increase when the prostate is dealing with irritation, swelling, or the growth of cancerous cells.

High levels of PSA in the blood do not necessarily mean that an individual has prostate cancer, but they can suggest that further tests are necessary.

The Prostate Cancer Research Institute (PCRI) recommend that most men start having PSA tests at the age of 45.

Males with a higher risk of developing the disease, including those who are African-American or who have a family history of prostate cancer, should start undergoing these tests at age 40.

Diagnosis

If PSA tests indicate prostate cancer, a doctor will usually order further tests.

The PCRI suggest that people with high PSA levels should consider undergoing 3T multiparametric MRI scanning. This creates images of the prostate, and it can help doctors identify potential areas of cancerous activity.

The next step is usually a needle biopsy, in which a healthcare professional takes a sample of the prostate for examination in a laboratory.

Doctors can diagnose bone metastases using a bone scan or other imaging tests.

A bone scan involves injecting a small amount of radioactive dye into a person's vein. The healthcare professional then scans the body with a special camera, and the dye helps reveal bone damage that may result from cancer.

Treatment

A person can take over-the-counter medication to help relieve back pain symptoms.

There are a variety of treatment options for people with prostate cancer and back pain.

Doctors often suggest watchful waiting, or no treatment, in the early stages of the disease. For other people, they may recommend a prostatectomy, which involves removing the prostate and some of the surrounding tissue.

Another treatment option is radiation therapy, which consists of using targeted radiation beams to kill the cancer cells.

For people with bone metastases, a doctor may inject radioactive drugs called radiopharmaceuticals. These drugs specifically target and kill cancer cells in the bones. Radiopharmaceuticals can relieve bone pain and help a person live longer.

Doctors may also prescribe medicines to prevent complications from bone metastases.

To help keep the bones strong, a person may also need to take calcium and vitamin supplements.

Common treatments for symptoms of back pain include:

·         using heat packs or cold packs

·         gentle stretching and low impact activities

·         strengthening exercises

·         physical therapy

·         over-the-counter or prescription pain medication

Takeaway

Prostate cancer is common among males in the U.S. It usually progresses slowly and responds well to treatment. Most people who receive a diagnosis of prostate cancer do not die from it.

Back pain can sometimes occur with advanced prostate cancer. However, back pain on its own does not necessarily indicate that a person has the disease. This pain is a common medical complaint, and there are many possible causes.

Anyone experiencing back pain and who is about the risk of prostate cancer should consider speaking to a doctor.

Source: MedicalNewsToday

Urine test can help diagnose aggressive prostate cancer

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ecent research has revealed that a new urine test can detect aggressive prostate cancer cases that need treatment up to 5 years sooner than other diagnostic methods.

Research has assessed the effectiveness of a new urine test for prostate cancer.

Researchers from the University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich, United Kingdom, and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) carried out the study.

They revealed that an experimental urine test, called Prostate Urine Risk (PUR), can find cancers that will require treatment within the first 5 years of diagnosis.

The findings now appear in the journal BJU International.

The team included Prof. Colin Cooper, Dr. Daniel Brewer, and Dr. Jeremy Clark, from UEA's Norwich Medical School. Rob Mills, Marcel Hanna, and Prof. Richard Ball, of the NNUH, provided support.

Looking at biomarkers

To develop this unique test, the researchers looked at gene expression in the urine samples of 535 men and determined the cell-free expression of 167 different genes.

They then established a combination of 35 different genes that the scientists considered risk signatures, or biomarkers, that the PUR test could look for.

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This test is unique in that it can sort people into different risk groups, thereby demonstrating the aggressiveness of the cancer.

"This research shows that our urine test could be used to not only diagnose prostate cancerwithout the need for an invasive needle biopsy but to identify a [person's] level of risk," says Dr. Clark.

"This means that we could predict whether or not prostate cancer patients already on active surveillance would require treatment. The really exciting thing is that the test predicted disease progression up to 5 years before it was detected by standard clinical methods."

"Furthermore," he adds, "the test was able to identify men that were up to eight times less likely to need treatment within 5 years of diagnosis."

Prostate cancer is common but slow-growing

According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), around 1 in 9 men will receive a diagnosis of prostate cancer during their lifetime. In 2019, the ACS estimate that there will be around 174,000 new cases of prostate cancer and over 31,000 deaths from the condition.

That said, most cases of prostate cancer do not result in death. In fact, the 5-year survival rate for localized and regional prostate cancer is nearly 100%, and even when combined with those who have distant-stage prostate cancer, the overall survival rate is still 98%.

Not counting skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men. Thanks to early detection techniques, doctors can diagnose and treat many cases early. Because it is a slow growing cancer, tests usually find before it before it has the chance to spread.

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What this test means in a clinical setting

There are many ways to help identify prostate cancer. Although a prostate biopsy is the only way to definitely diagnose the condition, there are a few screening tests that can indicate if a biopsy is necessary.

For example, the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test can help detect the possible presence of prostate cancer. Doctors tend to use these results, or a series of results, to determine if someone needs a biopsy.

Doctors might also perform a digital rectal exam to see if there are areas on the prostate that could be cancer. Although it is less effective than a PSA test, it can sometimes find cancers in people with normal PSA levels.

The PUR test goes one step further; it not only identifies the presence of cancer earlier than other tests, it can also help put people into different risk groups so that doctors can more accurately determine the course of care and whether to watch and wait, take a biopsy, or start treatment immediately.

"If this test was to be used in the clinic, large numbers of men could avoid an unnecessary initial biopsy and the repeated, invasive follow-up of men with low-risk disease could be drastically reduced."

Source: MecicalNewsToday

Brain structure may play key role in psychosis

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ew research finds that having a larger choroid plexus, which is a vital brain structure, could be involved in psychosis.

Research finds clues about psychosis in a brain structure that scientists have not yet fully studied.

Variations in the structure of the choroid plexus, which produces cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), could play a key role in psychosis.

A team that Dr. Paulo Lizano — of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA — led has now investigated this vital structure.

In doing so, they found that there could be a link between its size and the development of psychosis.

The choroid plexus and its product, CSF, are crucial parts of the neurological system. CSF helps cushion the brain within the skull, and the choroid plexus forms a barrier between the brain and the CFS, which helps filter out toxins and keeps blood components from entering the brain.

It also allows some molecules to pass through, including those involved with the immune system.

This study — which now appears in the American Journal of Psychiatry — involved three groups of people: participants with a diagnosis of psychosis, one of their first degree relatives, and people with no history of psychosis (the controls).

Each participant underwent a structural MRI brain scan, and the researchers found that the volume of the choroid plexus was larger in those who had psychosis.

They also found that the volume of the choroid plexus among first degree relatives was larger than that of the controls but smaller than that of those with psychosis.

Additional findings

However, these were not the only significant findings from the group with psychosis.

The researchers also found that larger choroid plexus volume correlated with reduced gray matter, smaller amygdala volume, lower cognitive scores, larger ventricle volume, and lower levels of neural connectivity.

Although they cannot yet say with certainty, the researchers believe that these findings could also offer clues as to the pathology of psychosis.

Source: MedicalNewsToday