Clinical manifestations of prostate cancer

Most prostate cancers have no obvious clinical symptoms and are often discovered accidentally during a rectal examination or in surgical specimens of prostate hyperplasia. Prostate cancer generally develops slowly, and the following symptoms may appear as the tumor grows and the disease progresses:

1. Urinary system symptoms: Urinary system symptoms are caused by the tumor growing to a certain extent or infiltrating the urethra, bladder neck, etc., such as frequent urination, urgency, slow urinary flow, interrupted urinary flow, incomplete urination, and even urinary retention or incontinence. Hematuria is rare, and pyuria may be seen when there is concurrent infection.

2. Symptoms of metastatic lesions: Lymph node metastasis and compression may cause lower limb edema; bone metastasis may cause bone pain, pathological fractures, and spinal cord compression neurological symptoms.

3. Non-specific symptoms: These symptoms appear in the late stage and are not specific to prostate cancer, such as anemia, weakness, difficulty in defecation, oliguria or anuria, etc. A small number of patients seek medical treatment for metastatic symptoms without obvious primary symptoms of prostate cancer.