Metastatic Prostate Cancer Prognosis

Prostate cancer is common among American men. In 2004, nearly 300,000 American men were diagnosed with prostate cancer and among these, approximately 30,000 died. If anything, these statistics show that prostate cancer, for most patients, actually does have a good prognosis.

As with any other form of cancer, early detection plays an important role in the outcome of the treatment that has been administered, the prognosis of the disease, and the life span of the patient. This is why it is highly recommended that you get screened annually by your physician. Catching cancer in the earliest stages will make the prognosis much better.

Metastatic Cancer
Metastatic cancer is cancer that has spread from the initial area to other parts of the body through the bloodstream or the lymph system. This happens because a cancerous cell has broken away from the mass where it was initially located and has migrated to another part of the body where it has continued to grow.
Metastatic cancer is actually later stage cancer. Cancer that is not detected until, the later stages can be difficult to treat and the curability rate lowers, as does the survival rate.

Survival Rate
Men who experience metastatic prostate cancer have less than a 10% chance of surviving for another five years after the diagnosis has been made. However, cancer is different in every patient, and each patient is also different from every other patient. So every person who has metastatic prostate cancer will not necessarily experience the same prognosis. Studies have shown that the location of the tumors, among other things, can affect the prognosis and that some men who have metastatic prostate cancer have a 20% to 30% chance of survival after the first five years of diagnosis.

Treatment
Treatment options are available for late stage of this cancer; however, it is harder to treat than the earlier stages where the cancer is more localized. Even if this cancer can be treated through radiation therapy or chemotherapy, the chances for recurrence are high. Recurrence is usually when you experience metastases. Patients who experience metastases are likely to receive a bad prognosis. When cancer metastasizes, sometimes there are just too many cancerous cells and they end up disrupting the body's metabolism, eventually resulting in death. At other times, the cancer can metastasize into vital areas of the body, such as the brain, and then result in death.

The surgical treatment option is usually thrown out the window in cases where the cancer has metastasized, but not in all cases. If the cancerous cells are large in number, push on vital organs, or intertwine themselves around delicate structures, surgery is not an option.

Late stage cancer can be treated; however, the prognosis is not good. Metastatic prostate cancer is late stage cancer and the prognosis of survival after the first five years after diagnosis is very low compared to the other stages.

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Prostate Cancer Surgery - 3 Forms Of Prostatectomy

There are many forms of treatment available for prostate cancer but one of the most common treatments for early stage cancer which is confined to the prostate gland is prostate cancer surgery known as the prostatectomy.

The prostatectomy, which essentially involves the removal of the prostate gland and thus the cancerous cells contained within it, can be performed as open surgery or can be performed either laparoscopically or robotically.

Open surgery is the traditional form of surgery in which an incision is made in the lower abdomen to allow access to the prostate gland which is then removed using standard surgical techniques. This form of surgery is often used when the prostate is particularly large or where there is a suspicion that cancer may have spread to tissue immediately surrounding the prostate gland which may also need to be removed.

One problem with open surgery (and indeed laparoscopic surgery) is that the removal of the prostate gland can also damage nerves, muscles and other tissue in the region of the prostate gland leading to problems with sexual function. Recently however surgical techniques have been developed to minimize such damage and a growing number of surgeons are now skilled in nerve-sparing techniques.

In the case of laparoscopic surgery a number of small incisions are made in the abdomen to allow for the access of a series of long thin instruments which are used to provide lighting for and video of the area of the prostate gland, as well as access for the surgical instruments used to remove the prostate gland.

The latest surgical technique which is coming into increasing use is nerve-sparing robotic surgery using the da Vinci system. Robotic surgery is similar to laparoscopic surgery but requires a team of two highly skilled surgeons. The first surgeon operates beside the patient in the normal manner, while the second surgeon sits at a computer controlled console and manipulates the robotic operating arms.

The advantage of robotic surgery is that it allows for the use of extremely delicate instruments, the movement of which can be very precisely controlled. This degree of precision can lead to little or no damage to the nerves, muscles and other surrounding tissues, as long as the procedure is carried out by a highly skilled and experienced team of surgeons.

The main advantage of prostate cancer surgery is that it is a one-time procedure which, as long as the cancer is confined to the prostate gland, can often provide a complete cure for the condition. It's main disadvantage is that it can cause impotence and incontinence.

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