Diseases & Conditions Blog

What is this condition?

This cancer affects the prostate – the chestnut-sized gland in males that surrounds the neck of the bladder and urethra (the structure that drains urine from the bladder). Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men over age 50.

Most prostate cancers arise in the rear portion of the prostate gland; the rest originate near the urethra. Prostate cancer rarely results from the benign enlargement that commonly develops around the prostatic urethra in older men.

Prostate cancer accounts for about 18% of all cancers. It’s most common in Blacks and least common in Asians. Its incidence in­creases with age more rapidly than any other cancer.

What causes it?

Researchers haven’t found a definite link between prostate cancer and increased levels of androgens (male hormones), although androgens regulate prostate growth and function and may speed tumor growth.

What are the Symptoms of Prostate cancer?

Prostate cancer Symptoms include difficulty starting a urine stream; urine dribbling or retention; urinary pain, frequency, or urgency; and, rarely, blood in the urine.

How is it diagnosed?

The doctor will perform a manual rectal exam, which may reveal a small, hard mass, or nodule. The American Cancer Society advises a yearly rectal exam for men over age 40, a yearly blood test to detect prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in men over age 50, and ultrasound if results are abnormal.

Biopsy confirms the diagnosis. Magnetic resonance imaging (commonly called MRI), a computed tomography scan (commonly called a CAT scan), and special X-rays of the urinary tract may also aid diagnosis.

How is it treated?

The preferred treatment depends on symptoms, the person’s tolerance for therapy and expected life span, and the disease stage. Care is taken when choosing a treatment method, because older men (commonly affected) typically have other disorders, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or heart disease.

Generally, treatment includes surgery to remove the prostate, and occasionally one or both testicles, radiation therapy, and hormone therapy. Radiation therapy is also used to cure some invasive tumors and to relieve pain from cancer spread to bone .

If hormone therapy, surgery, and radiation therapy aren’t feasible or successful, chemotherapy may be tried. However, current drug therapy offers limited benefit. Combining several treatment methods may be most effective.

What do Doctors call this Condition?

Doctors also call this condition chronic myelogenous leukemia and chronic myelocytic leukemia.

What is this Condition?

In chronic granulocytic leukemia (CGL), precursors to certain white blood cells called granulocytes multiply abnormally in the bone marrow, blood, and body tissues. It is most common in young and middle-aged adults (rare in children) and is slightly more common in men than women. In the United States, CGL accounts for roughly 20% of all diagnosed cases of leukemia.

There are two distinct phases of the disease: an insidious chronic phase, with anemia and bleeding abnormalities, and an acute phase (blastic crisis), in which myeloblasts (the most primitive granulocytic precursors) multiply rapidly. No cure exists for this disease – at least not yet.

What Causes it?

Experts believe that this disease is caused by an unidentified virus. It is notable that most people with CGL have a chromosomal abnormality called the Philadelphia chromosome, which may be caused by radiation and carcinogenic chemicals.

What are its Symptoms?

Typical symptoms include:

• anemia (marked by fatigue, weakness, decreased exercise tolerance, pallor, shortness of breath, rapid heart rate, and headache)
• a low platelet count, with resulting bleeding and clotting disorders such as retinal hemorrhage, blood in the urine, black tarry stools, bleeding gums, nosebleeds, and easy bruising
• an enlarged liver and spleen, with abdominal discomfort and pain.

Other common symptoms include tenderness in the ribs and sternum, low-grade fever, weight loss, loss of appetite, gouty arthritis, occasional prolonged infection and ankle swelling and, rarely, prolonged or constant erection of the penis.

How is it Diagnosed?

Lab tests, including chromosomal analysis, confirm a diagnosis of CGL. Blood tests usually reveal changes in white blood cells and other abnormalities. A test called bone marrow aspiration shows the effect of the disorder on bone cells. A computed tomography scan (commonly called a CAT scan) may identifY the organs affected by leukemia.

How is it Treated?

Even with chemotherapy, doctors have had little success in producing remissions in people with CGL. The goal of treatment during the chronic phase is to control the proliferation of white blood cells and platelets by giving drugs. The most commonly used oral drugs are busulfan and hydroxyurea. Aspirin is commonly given to prevent stroke if the person’s platelet count is especially high.

Other potentially helpful treatments include:

• radiation therapy of the spleen or removal of the spleen to increase the platelet count and limit the complications of spleen enlargement
• leukapheresis (selective leukocyte removal) to reduce the white blood cell count
• allopurinol, a drug that helps prevent excess uric acid in the blood, or colchicine, a drug that relieves gout caused by elevated uric acid levels
• prompt treatment of infections (chemotherapy may cause bone marrow suppression, which can lead to infection).

During the acute phase of CGL, lymphoblastic or myeloblastic leukemia may develop. Treatment is similar to that for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. A bone marrow transplant may produce long periods without symptoms in the early phase of illness but has been less successful in the acute phase.