The 3 main symptoms of prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is a disease that only occurs in men. Do you know what the symptoms of prostate cancer are? Let’s take a look below.

The main site of prostate cancer is the posterior subcapsular gland. Therefore, prostate cancer usually does not show symptoms until the late stage. Clinically, stage A and stage B lesions are often asymptomatic, stage C has obstructive symptoms, and stage D has both distant metastasis symptoms and obstructive symptoms. Common symptoms are divided into the following three groups:

Prostate Cancer Symptoms

(1) Obstructive symptoms

The symptoms of bladder neck obstruction in prostate cancer are almost the same as those in benign prostatic hyperplasia, manifested as slow urine flow, urgency, interrupted urine flow, incomplete urination, frequent urination, and in severe cases, it can cause dribbling urination and urine retention. There are two points in the obstruction process that are clinically significant: ① The course of the disease continues to progress, which is different from the slow progression of the disease in prostate hyperplasia. ② Hematuria is not common. It is worth noting that the first symptom of prostate cancer is usually not urethral obstruction, but more common symptoms are local spread and bone metastasis. Only in the late stage does the cancer invade the glands around the urethra and cause obstruction symptoms.

(2) Metastasis symptoms

When the tumor invades the capsule and the nearby perineural lymphatic vessels, perineal pain and sciatica may occur. Bone pain is a common symptom of stage D, which manifests as persistent pain in the lumbosacral region and pelvis, which is more severe when lying in bed; when the rectum is involved, it may manifest as difficulty in defecation or colon obstruction; when prostate cancer invades the membranous urethra, urinary incontinence may occur; other metastatic symptoms include lower limb edema, lymphadenopathy, subcutaneous metastatic nodules, pathological fractures, etc.

(3) Systemic symptoms

Systemic symptoms include weight loss, fatigue, low fever, progressive anemia, cachexia or renal failure.

Prostate cancer diagnosis

① Rectal examination: hard nodules were found with an accuracy rate of 80%.

② Prostate biopsy via rectal puncture or perineal incision is more accurate.

③ Serum acid phosphatase determination: may be significantly elevated.

④B-ultrasound, isotope scanning: changes are found in the prostate.

⑤X-ray: After urethrography, the urethral bladder neck was displaced; radiographs of the spine, pelvis, femur, and sternum showed metastatic bone destruction lesions.