Subscribe to the news and receive the latest relevant articles. Graduated Research fellow and Resident. Research Fellow. Assistant Professor of Medicine. Assistant Professor of Surgery. All other authors report no conflict of interest. Prostate cancer PCa is the most common non-cutaneous malignancy among men in the Western hemisphere. In its early stage, PCa is mostly asymptomatic but it can be associated with lower urinary tract symptoms including nocturia, poor urinary stream, impotence, urinary retention, and hematuria among others.
Symptoms will mainly correlate with the size and the location of the tumor. Since PCa most commonly metastasizes to bone other than lymph nodes , bone pain could be seen in more advanced disease. The natural history of PCa is heterogeneous based on established prognostic factors.
However, many patients experience a protracted disease course as evidenced by the discordance between the median age at diagnosis of 66 years and the median age of PCa-specific death of 80 years. The incidence of PCa varies according to age, race, and heredity, as well as environmental factors. For example, the incidence of PCa in non-Hispanic Black patients is Although there is no clearly identified single genetic risk factor, the hazard ratio HR for PCa diagnosis in men with a first-degree relative affected by PCa ranges between 2.
While there is undoubtedly a genetic component to these findings, there are likely environmental causes as well. The past 20 years have witnessed significant controversies regarding PCa screening given concerns about overdiagnosis and overtreatment in light of increasing recognition of treatment toxicities. Genetic factors are believed to be responsible for the development of some PCa. Generally, patients with a hereditary component paternal or maternal will develop PCa 6 to 7 years earlier than the overall population.
In addition to the hereditary component, age, and African descent are well established risk factors. Similarly, lifestyle for example diet, exercise pattern, region, socioeconomic status, and race and metabolic syndrome may also contribute to this association. Prostate cancer genomics. Many recent developments have contributed to our understanding of the genetic precursors of PCa growth. Furthermore, 1q25 variants were also associated with high-grade tumors OR: 1.
