The prostate is a walnut-sized gland that makes and stores seminal fluid, a milky liquid that nourishes sperm. Located below the bladder and in front of the rectum, the prostate encircles the upper part of the urethra, the tube that empties urine from the bladder. The gland helps regulate both bladder control and normal sexual functioning.
Cancer of the prostate is the most common cancer among American men, and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men after lung cancer. This year, 230,110 new cases and 29,900 deaths are expected. The ratio of newly diagnosed cases to prostate cancer deaths shows that although the disease is lethal for some, most men die with rather than from their cancers.
Survival Rates
Not all prostate cancers are alike. In some men, the disease is very aggressive and requires treatment, whereas in others it is a slow-growing disease that is unlikely to cause serious problems. Nearly 80 percent of all prostate tumors are diagnosed when they are still in the local or regional stages. Patients whose cancer is diagnosed this early have a five-year survival rate of 100 percent. The survival rate for all stages of prostate cancer combined has increased from 67 percent to 92 percent over the past 20 years, according to the American Cancer Society, primarily because more men are now diagnosed earlier in the course of the disease than in the past.
Clinical States
Most physicians stage prostate cancer (determine if and how far it has spread) using a system that takes into account only the status of the disease at the time of diagnosis. Here at Memorial Sloan-Kettering, doctors now use an alternative staging system that accounts for the entire history of the disease. Using this new clinical states model, clinicians "reset the clock" and adjust treatment to each patient's evolving needs. In treating a disease like prostate cancer, which can develop over 10 to 20 years in ways that vary dramatically from individual to individual, this is an important advantage.
