Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in the United States, after skin cancer, and it can often be treated successfully. The prostate gland is found only in men. It is located below the bladder (where urine is stored) and in front of the rectum (the last part of the intestines). It is wrapped around the urethra, the tube that carries urine and semen out of the body through the penis.

The American Cancer Society estimates that about 288,300 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in 2023. About 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime. About 6 in 10 cases are diagnosed in men who are 65 or older, and it’s rare to see cases of prostate cancer in men under the age of 40. Age-adjusted rates for new prostate cancer diagnoses have been falling about 1.3 percent each year from 2010 through 2019.

Our physicians are well versed in the treatment of prostate cancer, and our support staff will make your treatment journey as easy as possible. We have offices in Louisville and just across the river in Jeffersonville for your convenience. Learn more about our physicians.

Types of prostate cancer

Almost all prostate cancers are adenocarcinomas that develop from the cells that make the prostate fluid that is part of semen. Other types of cancer that can start in the prostate include sarcomas, transitional cell carcinomas, small cell carcinomas, and neuroendocrine tumors (other than small cell carcinomas).

Possible pre-cancerous conditions of the prostate

• Prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN). In PIN, there are changes in the way the prostate gland cells look under a microscope, but those abnormal cells don’t look like they are growing into other parts of the prostate, as cancer cells would. PIN can be low-grade (the cells look almost normal) or high-grade (the cells look more abnormal).
• Proliferative inflammatory atrophy (PIA). In PIA, the prostate cells look smaller than they should and there are signs of inflammation in the area. PIA is not cancer, but researchers think PIA may sometimes lead to high-grade PIN, or directly to prostate cancer.

Risk factors for prostate cancer

There are several factors that increase men’s risk of developing prostate cancer.

• Age. Prostate cancer is rare in men younger than age 40, and the risk rises rapidly after age 50.
• Race. In the U.S., prostate cancer occurs more often in Black men and Caribbean men of African ancestry than in men of other races, while Asian American, Hispanic, and Latino men are less likely to get it.
• Geography. Prostate cancer is most common in North America, northwestern Europe, Australia, and on Caribbean islands, while it’s less common in Asia, Africa, Central America, and South America. While the reasons for this aren’t clear, scientists think that at least part of the difference is due to more intensive screening for prostate cancer in high-income nations.
• Family history. Having a father or brother with prostate cancer more than doubles a man’s risk of developing the disease.
• Genetics. Mutations of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes can raise prostate cancer risk—especially if the mutation is in the BRCA2 gene.

Radiation therapy for prostate cancer

Radiation therapy is usually the treatment of choice for prostate cancer, particularly recurrent prostate cancer. The best prostate cancer treatment centers will have radiation oncologists who personalize your treatment journey for you. This personalization is based on your age, the stage of your cancer, the tumor’s Gleason score, and the grade of your cancer (which tells your oncologist how fast the cancer is likely to grow). Your radiation oncologist will also talk to you about your personal preferences for your treatment.

There are three main types of radiation therapy for prostate cancer: external beam radiation, brachytherapy, and radiopharmaceuticals. The most effective forms of external beam radiation—when radiation from a machine is directed at a cancerous growth in the body—are image guided radiation therapy (IGRT) and intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT).

In brachytherapy, a needle is used to place radioactive seeds in the prostate gland. These seeds stay in place and slowly break down over time. This therapy will kill cancer cells while causing minimal damage to other tissues. Brachytherapy is typically used only in men with early-stage, slow-growing prostate cancer. It is not generally recommended for men with recurrent prostate cancer or cancer that is growing outside the prostate.

Advanced Prostate Treatment Options

Sometimes, a patient’s prostate-specific antigen (PSA) may rise months or years after their initial treatment with surgery or radiation therapy. If this happens, your physician may recommend a course of IMRT (also known as salvage post-prostatectomy IMRT) to the prostate bed and surrounding tissue in order to eliminate any possible cancer cells.

For certain advanced prostate cancers, radiopharmaceuticals such as Pluvicto (lutetium 177) and radium 223 can be utilized for treatment. Radiopharmaceuticals attach to a protein called prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), which is found in large amounts on prostate cancer cells, and bring the radiation therapy directly to the cancer cells.

Information on this page is sourced from the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute.

Cancers We Treat

Our physicians treat a wide variety of cancers. You can view the full list here, or you can click below to learn about the cancers we most commonly treat.