Prostate cancer: At what age is it diagnosed and when should it be treated?

The article was professionally consulted by a doctor from the Department of General Surgery and Anesthesia, Vinmec Hai Phong International General Hospital.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (also known as prostatic hyperplasia) is an enlargement of the prostate gland common in middle-aged and elderly men. This is a benign disease, progressing very slowly, causing urinary disorders affecting the patient's daily activities. The incidence increases gradually with age, according to recent studies, people after 40 years of age have had an enlarged prostate. However, the problem of treatment is only posed when there are symptoms of urinary disorders or complications.

The prostate is a small organ that surrounds the urethra, located at the base of the bladder, in front of the rectum, behind the pubic bone, and found only in men. The main function of the prostate gland is to secrete white mucus to neutralize the dilute acidic environment of semen. The gland usually develops during puberty, until about 20-25 years of age, it stabilizes.
In men over the age of 40, the prostate gland tends to increase in size abnormally. This condition is called Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia. The disease progresses slowly and causes symptoms mainly when the patient turns 50.
Prostatic hyperplasia is common in men who have a habit of smoking, sexual abuse, diet. unreasonable (eating a lot of hot spicy food, drinking alcohol) and anxiety, prolonged stress,...

When prostate fibroids press on the urethra, it will cause symptoms of urinary disorders in patients with the following 2 typical syndromes:
Urinary obstruction syndrome: The patient does not urinate completely, while Urine stagnation in the bladder leads to straining, interrupted urination, weak urine stream, not even a stream, dripping urine, urinary obstruction, prolonged urination and even complete urinary retention. Irritable syndrome: The patient always has a feeling of needing to urinate, does not urinate completely, is prone to urinary incontinence, has a strong need to urinate all day and night,...

Some patients with urine stagnation have created conditions for bacteria to accumulate in the bladder, causing urinary tract infections, urinary tract stones. More dangerously, infectious bacteria go up and easily cause pyelonephritis - a very serious urinary tract infection. Even if the urinary retention is severe and prolonged due to prostate cancer, it can lead to chronic kidney failure. Some cases develop into prostate cancer. If cancer is detected early, treatment is easy and the patient's prognosis is good. In the event that the cancer is not detected early and has metastasized to other organs, the patient's prognosis is much worse. Therefore, patients with prostate cancer should go for regular check-ups to detect complications of the disease early and have a timely and effective treatment plan. Some other diseases can be a consequence of prostate enlargement: hemorrhoids, inguinal hernia, high blood pressure, etc.

Medical treatment For patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia who have symptoms of urinary disorders, affecting daily activities, they must first undergo medical treatment. The most commonly used drugs today to treat this disease are alpha 1 blockers, which relax the smooth muscle of the blood vessels, prostate, and bladder neck (including alfuzosin, terazosin, doxazosin, prazosin) and tamsulosin) to relieve urethral obstruction, helping patients to urinate normally. In addition, there are a number of other drugs such as anti-androgen drugs are also used in combination with the above group of drugs to reduce symptoms of the disease.
Besides, patients can use some domestic herbs that have been studied to cure prostate enlargement.

Surgical treatment Surgery will be indicated if the patient has the following conditions:
Complete urinary retention, even after urethral catheterization. Incomplete urinary retention with residual urine after urinating, failure of medical treatment. Recurrent hematuria due to prostatic hyperplasia. Bladder diverticulum, bladder stones due to prostatic hyperplasia Recurrent urinary tract infections. Renal failure (recommended renal failure should be treated before endoscopic resection). Benign prostatic hyperplasia affects health, sleep or interferes with work. Modern surgical methods are being used in the international Vinmec general hospital system:
Treatment of prostatic hypertrophy by Bipolar bipolar knife. Endoscopic evaporative benign prostatic hyperplasia. Endoscopic laser vaporization of the prostate. In cases where the prostate is too large, laparoscopic surgery cannot be used, the doctor often prescribes surgery for benign prostatic hyperplasia.
In addition, there are a number of other supportive measures to treat prostatic hyperplasia such as: Soak in warm water throughout the pelvic region combined with daily massage; drink enough water and give priority to drinking during the day; physical therapy to reduce disease symptoms; dilating the urinary tract with stents,...

To prevent prostate cancer, men should follow the following guidelines:
Manage nervous tension, get plenty of rest, and combine exercise and sports. Drink plenty of water (8-12 glasses per day) to clear the urinary tract. Should eat foods containing natural hormones such as isoflavones, lignane (found in soybeans, mung beans, bean sprouts,...) to inhibit inflammatory response in the prostate gland; vegetables and fruits that contain a lot of lycopene, beta-carotene, vitamins A, B, C,... (tomatoes, carrots, pumpkin, watermelon, celery, spinach,...) and rich foods Omega 3 such as tuna, salmon, yogurt, ... Should limit animal fat, fried foods, animal meat contains a lot of protein. Men over 50 should not eat more than 100g of meat per meal. Avoid alcohol and caffeinated beverages like tea and coffee because caffeine can stimulate urination. Benign prostatic hyperplasia is common in middle-aged men and can cause many dangerous complications. Therefore, if there are symptoms of prostate enlargement, the patient should visit a doctor as soon as possible to get an accurate diagnosis of his health status and have a timely treatment plan if unfortunately. sick.
When there are any abnormal signs in the prostate, the patient can go to Vinmec International General Hospital for examination and treatment. There is a team of well-trained, experienced urological specialists, a system of complete and modern medical equipment, professional service quality, helping to improve the efficiency in diagnosis. and treatment of urinary diseases in general and prostate diseases in particular.