When choosing a treatment for prostate cancer, doctors consider the following factors: phase of the illness, PSA levels, the Gleason score and life expectancy. Depending on these parameters and especially on the results expected, the treatment can be curative or palliative. Initially, the patient needs to be informed on the advantages and risks of various treatment options.

The use of ketoconazole for prostate cancer is common in the T3-T4 phases of the illness, namely slight extension around the prostate, but also in the metastasized phase of the illness, namely the phases N+ and M+.



For localized tumors

For this phase, treatment involves the removal of the prostate or radiotherapy. Long term survival is highly likely in both forms of treatment. The prostatectomy consists of the removal of the prostate and of the seminal vesicles and it is recommended for patients with a survival expectancy higher than 10 years. Complications that might occur include hemorrhaging and iatrogenic lesions of the obturator nerves, ureters and rectum. After surgery there could be some deep venous thrombosis, pelvic lymphocele, pulmonary embolism and urinary infection. In the long term, the most common complications – urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction – are due to lesions of the striated sphincter and of the cavernous nerves. Radiotherapy is suited for patients with a life expectancy below 10 years and who are advised against surgery.

In the T3-T4 phase of the illness

For this phase, the optimal solution would be radiotherapy, because surgery cannot completely remove the tumor and it would favor systemic dissemination. Another therapeutic option is hormonal treatment alone or in association with radiotherapy. Here doctors could use ketoconazole for prostate cancer. Endoscopic resection is used for patients with urine retention.

In the N+ M+ phase of the illness

Standard treatment in this phase is hormonal. The favorable response in this form of treatment comes as a result of the destruction of the adenocarcinoma cells. The testosterone, 95% coming from the testicles, is transformed into dihydrotestosterone. On a prostate level, dihydrotestosterone favors the proliferation of normal as well as neoplastic cells. The object of the hormonal treatment is to decrease the level of testosterone and implicitly that of dihydrotestosterone. There is temporary regression in almost 80% of cases, but the life expectancy is greatly reduced.

One part of the hormonal treatment is the administration of antiandrogens by two ways: inhibiting the synthesis of androgens or preventing their action on a prostatic cell level through the competitive inhibition of the androgenic receptors. Ketoconazole is the mixture that quickly inhibits the synthesis of androgens in the testicle and the supra-renal gland. The inhibition of receptors is performed with medicine such as Flutamide which achieves medical castration when administered in 250 milligram doses three times per day in mono-therapy or in combination with an LHRH agonist. Other medicine that can be used include: cyproterone-acetate, bicalutamide 50 mg per day and milutamide (Milandron) 150mg per day.



The inhibition of the adrenal secretion of testosterone is obtained through a “medical adrenalectomy” which can be achieved with ketoconazole or with aminoglutethimide (cytadren). For these patients, steroidal hormone substitution with hydrocortisone is imposed.

Prostate cancer is one of the most frequent forms of cancer occurring in men. The chances to develop this type of cancer grow with age, but the affliction can also be found in younger men. Early diagnosis greatly improves prostate cancer treatments, cure rate and even cures the condition altogether.

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Prostate cancer appears when the cells of the prostatic gland grow in an uncontrolled and abnormal manner. The uncontrolled multiplication of the prostate cells leads to an increase in the size of the prostate, which, later, causes problems in urination. The widening of the prostate could obstruct the urethra or the urinary tract that passes through the prostate, from the bladder to the penis.

Depending on the type of cancer cells, their spreading degree outside the prostate, age and the presence of other afflictions, people diagnosed with prostate cancer can receive one or more methods of treatment.



Local malignant tumors of the prostate are treated radically. The cancer that can be found in the prostate and which has not gone beyond the anatomic capsule of the prostate is perfectly curable. In this case, the urologist could surgically remove the prostate, choose interstitial radiotherapy of the prostate (introducing into the prostatic gland several radioactive iodine seeds that destroy cancer cells, without the need for surgical intervention) or go with external radiotherapy (hormone-therapy).

The surgical treatment of prostate cancer is recommended when the malignant tumor is caught while it is still constricted by the anatomical capsule. There can be various methods used for the removal of cancer cells, including: the use of classic surgery, laparoscopic surgery or robotic surgery. Through such interventions, the surgeon will completely remove the prostate. Depending on the surgical intervention, hospitalization interval varies between 2 and 3 weeks. If the illness returns, the hormone therapy will be repeated and the patient will receive medicine that inhibits the testosterone produced by the testicles. When the cancer has gone beyond the anatomic capsule, treatment is no longer radical, just palliative.

The treatment of prostate cancer using radioactive iodine involves the introduction into the prostatic gland of some radioactive iodine seeds that destroy cancer cells. The radioactive iodine dose used will be calculated depending on the volume of the prostatic tumor tissue.

The medicine treatment of the prostate cancer is mainly aimed at changing the patient’s hormonal profile, namely inhibiting the excessive secretion of testosterone. The hormonal condition manifested by men is the one that determined the occurrence of prostate cancer.



The diagnosis and early treatment of prostate cancer is even more important given that the occurrence of this illness is continuously growing. Here it needs to be repeated that early diagnosis greatly improves prostate cancer treatments, cure rate and even cures the condition altogether. The incidence of prostate cancer is growing and the average age of patients keeps decreasing. There can be very young men who develop prostate cancer, even at the age of 30. The affliction is so frequent that in some areas, at the age of 80, more than 80% of men are suffering from prostate cancer, according to specialists.

If you want to know what is the definition of prostate cancer and what you need to prevent it, first you need to understand what prostate cancer is and how it can occur. Prostate cancer is ranked third among the types of cancer most often encountered in men, after lung cancer and stomach cancer, and it is the fourth most lethal form of cancer.

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Distribution on the globe shows that prostate cancers have grown in numbers, especially in the northern European countries: Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland, as well as in the western European countries. In the U.S., for example, in the past five years, the number of prostate cancer cases has doubled, while in France more than 25,000 men are touched yearly buy this illness. Prostate cancer occurs less often in eastern Europe and eve less so in Asia. Like with breast cancer in women, the risks of prostate cancer grow with age, which is why a careful medical check-up is recommended to men over 50, especially those who have a history of cancer in their families.



How to prevent or notice prostate cancer early on?
Prostate cancer has a slow clinical evolution and it does not show immediate and noticeable signs. This is the reason why it is very important for men to get yearly medical checkups after the age of 50. The medical test needs to specifically check for this type of cancer, using the adequate rectal procedures. Once per year is not too much when it comes to such a terrible illness. The medical exam can be performed by any doctor, regardless of their specialty.

Aside from the digital rectal exam, if there are inconclusive signs or suspicions of cancer, a biopsy needs to be performed, as well as blood tests, which enables the administration of a specific antigen substance, called PSA, or Prostate Specific Antigen. If you have a history of prostate cancer in your family, then you should start taking these yearly medical exams at the age of 40.

What is the definition of prostate cancer
According to medterms.com, prostate cancer is “an uncontrolled (malignant) growth of cells in the prostate gland which is located at the base of the urinary bladder and is responsible for helping control urination as well as forming part of the semen.”

How does early prostate cancer affect the body?
The clinical manifestations of prostate cancer are different, depending on the phase reached by the illness. Initially, there is a long period without any symptoms, in which the diagnosis can be set during a routine digital rectal exam. There is a hard tumor bump, located in a lobe or an area of less density compared to the rest of the gland, imposing the performance of a biopsy. Then there is the symptom phase, which includes dysuria, an increased number of urination needs, sometimes blood in the urine, hypo-gastric pain, blood in the sperm, painful erections.



The coexistence of a Prostate carcinoma and an adenoma makes the diagnosis more difficult, especially in cases of a known adenoma, but the aggravation of the obstructive phenomena generates suspicion of the occurrence of a prostate cancer. Perinea pain can be present during the invasion of the urethra, or it can be localized hypo-gastrically in forms with local extension. Initially this pain can be moderate, taking the form of a nuisance pain in the perineum, which grows in intensity, as the tumor grows beyond the capsule.