PROSTATE CANCER: Causes and Prevention

Prostate cancer only affects men. But before we get into causes and prevention -- what is a prostate? The word "prostate" comes from Medieval Latin prostate and Medieval French prostate. The ancient Greek word prostates means "one standing in front", from proistanai meaning "set before". The prostate is so called because of its position - it is at the base of the bladder. This explains why one of the symptoms of prostate cancer is frequent urination. Anyway, back to the prostate. The prostate is an exocrine gland of the male reproductive system, and exists directly under the bladder, in front of the rectum. An exocrine gland is one whose secretions end up outside the body e.g. prostate gland and sweat glands. It is approximately the size of a walnut. There are thousands of tiny glands in the prostate - they all produce a fluid that forms part of the semen. The epithelial cells in the prostate gland produce a protein called PSA (prostate-specific antigen). The PSA helps keep the semen in its liquid state. Some of the PSA escapes into the bloodstream. We can measure a man's PSA levels by checking his blood. If a man's levels of PSA are high, it might be an indication of either prostate cancer or some kind of prostate condition. So what causes prostate cancer? Nobody is really sure of what the specific causes are. There are so many possible factors, including age, race, lifestyle, medications, and genetics, to name a few. Age is certainly a factor -- men over 50 are much more suseptable. Also, Studies indicate that the two faulty genes - BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 - which are important risk factors for breast cancer and ovarian cancer, have also been implicated in prostate cancer risk. Prevention of prostate cancer lies in diet, it appears. A review of diets indicated that the Mediterranean diet may reduce a person's chances of developing prostate cancer. Another study indicates that soy, selenium and green tea, offer additional possibilities for disease prevention - however, a more recent study indicated that combination therapy of vitamin E, selenium and soy does not prevent the progression from high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HGPIN) to prostate cancer. A diet high in vegetable consumption was found in a study to be beneficial. In addition to diet and nutrients, the single most important preventative is early detection and all men over 50 are urged by doctors to get their prostate tested.