Metastasis Prostate Cancer

Like just about every other form of cancer that there is, once it has had a chance to fester and grow, prostate cancer starts to spread beyond its point of origin in a process medically referred to as metastasis. Prostate cancer metastasis is typically through the bloodstream and first to the lymph nodes. Afterward, the cancerous growths start to progress to other parts of the body, where they lodge and grow secondary tumors.

Prostate cancer still located inside the prostate gland is treatable, with a five year survival rate of almost a hundred percent, and a ten year prognosis that exceeds ninety percent. But once the cancer has spread beyond the prostate, these cure rates drop dramatically to a point where the cancer might become totally untreatable by any interventions that are intended to cure it, and the only remedies that can be applied to it are those intended for palliation. At such times even the prostate cancer bone metastasis survival rates become slim, but not impossible. If you are wondering about the life expectancy for metastatic prostate cancer, keep reading.

The metastasis of prostate cancer often proceeds to the bones of the spine, thigh, and ribs, right after it has invaded the pelvic girdle. This bone metastatic prostate cancer often results in widespread bone pain that radiate from the proximal parts of the bones. The metastasis may even be more extensive, reaching to further away body locations like the skull and the feet. They can be observed during the staging of the condition under the glare of a bone scan, which will show the regions of lighter and higher bone densities that could cause fracture.

However, prostate cancer is a relatively slow-growing cancer, which means that it typically takes a number of years for the disease to become large enough to be detectable, and even longer to spread beyond the prostate. This is good news, which the American Cancer Society has exploited by urging every man over 50 (or even less) to go in for medical checkups at least once a year so that treatment can be effected before the disease gets to metastasize? when the symptoms star to appear.

There are some aggressive forms of prostate cancer, though, that grow a lot more rapidly than is usual. It is unfortunately difficult to know for sure if a patient’s cancer is the rapidly growing, aggressive form of the disease or if it is the normal milder form. To that end, doctors may choose to observe the patient for a while (active surveillance/watchful waiting) to see if there are any changes before they start to consider treatment options, so as not to complicate treatment decisions.

Treatment may be aimed at palliation, as stated earlier; or it may be offered to slow reverse the progression of the cancers so that radiotherapy or prostatectomy can be used to remove the cancer. Again, the prognosis in this kind of instance is not often very inspiring.

1. Stage IV Prostate Cancer – Bone Metastasis Treatment and Prognosis