Prostate Fact Sheet

  • Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Canadian men, and the second leading cause of cancer death (after lung cancer).

  • In 2004, an estimated 20,100 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and 4,200 will die of it (Canadian Cancer Society stats)

  • One in 8 men will develop prostate cancer during his lifetime, mostly after age 70. One in 26 will die of it (Canadian Cancer Society stats)

  • Most men over 50 will experience some degree of prostate enlargement.  This could be due to prostatitis, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), or cancer.

  • Percentage of men with some form of prostate enlargement:

o       At age 30 to 40:        8%

o       At age 50 to 60         50%

o       Age 80 and over       90%

Focus on BPH

  • Only 1 in 20 men with BPH will require surgery for his condition.  The symptoms will spontaneously improve or disappear in 20 to 50% of cases.

  • Options for treating BPH include:
    • Watchful waiting
    • Medication
    • Surgery – TURP (trans-urethral resection of the prostate)

  • Drug therapy for BPH is becoming increasingly popular.  In the United States , prescriptions for BPH medications increased from fewer than 400,000 in 1993 to over a million in 1996.

Focus on Prostate Cancer

  • A tumour that is completely confined to the prostate gland will grow slowly, and may not spread to other organs for up to 5 to 15 years.

  • Many cancers of the prostate can be completely cured by surgery or radiation therapy, if they are caught early enough.

  • Options for treating prostate cancer include:
    • Watchful waiting
    • Radiatiotherapy
      • External beam radiotherapy
      • Conformal radiotherapy
      • Brachytherapy
    • Medication
    • Surgery - Radical prostatectomy (RP)

Radical Prostatectomy facts

  • Radical prostatectomy is the gold standard for prostate cancer treatment.  The procedure has been performed for over 100 years and current protocols have changed little in the last 50 years, so the risks and success rates are well known.

  • Traditional radiotherapy techniques are equally as effective as surgery for curing prostate cancer.  Newer radiotherapy techniques also appear to be very effective, but the long-term survival rates have not yet been characterized.

  • 90% of radical prostatectomy patients will regain full bladder control within 6 to 12 weeks of surgery.

  • When nerve-sparing RP techniques are used, 60 to 80% of patients will eventually regain the capacity to have an erection.

  • For patients who suffer erectile dysfunction after nerve-sparing RP, drugs such as Viagra are successful in about 70% of cases.