Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Prostate Cancer Screening

Is screening right for you?

The decision is yours. Some medical experts believe all men should be offered regular screening tests for prostate cancer. Other medical experts do not recommend screening. To help you decide, let’s begin with the basics.

The Prostate and Prostate Cancer

What is the prostate?
The prostate is a walnut-sized gland that only men have. It is part of the reproductive system that makes the fluid that carries sperm. As you can see in the picture below, the prostate is located in front of the rectum and just below the bladder. The urethra (the tube that carries urine from the bladder to outside the body) runs through the center of the prostate. As men age, the prostate tends to increase in size. This can cause the urethra to narrow and decrease urine flow.

What is prostate cancer?
Prostate cancer is made up of cells that do not grow normally. The cells divide and create new cells that the body does not need, forming a mass of tissue called a tumor. These abnormal cells sometimes spread to other parts of the body, multiply, and cause death.

What causes prostate cancer?
As with many types of cancers, medical experts do not know what causes prostate cancer. They are studying several possible causes.

Can prostate cancer be prevented?
Medical experts do not know how to prevent prostate cancer. But they are studying many factors. They do know that not smoking, maintaining a healthy diet, staying physically active, and seeing your doctor regularly contribute to overall good health.

How common is prostate cancer?
For the general population, a man in his lifetime has about a

• 16 percent chance (1 in 6) of being diagnosed with prostate cancer.
• 3 percent chance (1 in 33) of dying from prostate cancer.

The older you are, the greater the risk for getting prostate cancer. See the chart below.

Who is at increased risk for prostate cancer?
While all men are at risk for prostate cancer, some factors increase risk

• Family history.  Men with a father or brother who has had prostate cancer are at greater risk for developing it themselves.
• Race.  Prostate cancer is more common in some racial and ethnic groups than in others, but medical experts do not know why. Prostate cancer is more common in African-American men than in white men. It is less common in Hispanic, Asian, Pacific Islander, and Native American men than in white men.

Is prostate cancer serious?
Some prostate cancers become a serious threat to health by growing quickly, spreading beyond the prostate gland to other parts of the body, and causing death. Yet other prostate cancers grow slowly and never become a serious threat to health or affect how long a man lives. Doctors can’t always be sure what type of cancer is present in your particular case.

Among the leading causes of cancer death in men, prostate cancer is second, behind lung cancer. When compared with all causes of death in men over age 45, prostate cancer ranks fifth.

What are the symptoms of prostate cancer?
Many men with prostate cancer often have no symptoms. If symptoms appear, they can include

• blood in the urine;
• the need to urinate frequently, especially at night;
• weak or interrupted urine flow;
• pain or burning feeling while urinating;
• the inability to urinate;
• constant pain in the lower back, pelvis, or upper thighs.

If you have any of these symptoms, see your doctor as soon as possible. Keep in mind that these symptoms are also caused by other prostate problems that are not cancer, such as an infection or an enlarged prostate.