How does prostate cancer metastasize?

Cancer cells are very "greedy". Once the early symptoms are ignored and not examined and treated in time, they will metastasize to anywhere they may reach and cause great harm to the body.

The early symptoms of prostate cancer are not obvious. Clinical manifestations include incomplete urination, frequent urination, urgency, interrupted urine flow, and difficulty urinating, which are often mistaken for prostatitis, resulting in prostate cancer having spread through various metastatic pathways by the time medical treatment is sought.

There are several main ways prostate cancer metastasizes:

1. Direct spread

Prostate cancer spreads through the capsule to the surrounding areas and infiltrates adjacent organs. The seminal vesicles, vas deferens, bladder, and pelvic organs may all be affected.

2. Lymphatic metastasis

Lymph node metastasis of prostate cancer occurs first in the obturator and hypogastric lymph nodes, and then spreads to the internal iliac, external iliac, and inguinal lymph nodes, and can extend to the inferior vena cava, mediastinum, and subclavian lymph nodes. The lower the cancer differentiation, the higher the lymph node metastasis rate.

3. Hematogenous metastasis

Hematogenous metastasis of prostate cancer is the most common, with cancer cells traveling through the blood to the bones, lungs, liver, kidneys and adrenal glands. Bone metastasis is the most common, followed by pelvis, lumbar spine, femur, thoracic spine, ribs, etc.; lung metastasis is the second most common. According to statistics, about 30% of prostate cancer deaths have lung metastasis.

Once metastasis occurs, it will make treatment more difficult and affect the prognosis. Therefore, male friends who have abnormal symptoms must be checked and treated in time to prevent the condition from worsening.