Medicus, Vol. 14 No. 2_Gerijatrija, 2005.
Review article
Contemporary Procedures in the Prevention, Early Diagnosis and Treatment of Prostatic Cancer
Mirko Šamija
Abstract
Prostatic cancer is for many reasons a current
topic in the fi eld of oncology, especially because of its rapidly
increasing incidence and mortality rates. A higher incidence
could be partly attributed to early detection and longer life
expectancy, while mortality rate is additionally affected by
some other factors. Today, prostatic cancer is the most variable
malignant disease with a huge range of malignancy stages and
characterised by frequent episodes of unpredictable and moody
behaviour and response to treatment. Prostatic cancer is today
the fourth most frequent malignant tumour in males worldwide,
coming after lung, stomach and colon cancer, and the second
most frequent in developed countries. In the USA and Canada, it
is the second most common cancer after skin cancer. The most
important risk factors for prostatic cancer are age, race and
family predisposition, while the impact of other factors, such as
occupational exposure, alcohol, smoking, vasectomy, radiation,
sexual behaviour and diet is much lower. As these risk factors
have not been determined with certainty, the possibility of early
prevention is rather poor. In spite of controversial opinions on
the secondary prevention effects, it seems that early detection
of prostatic cancer in men with a family history and chronic
prostatitis is justifi ed. Recently, progress has been made in
diagnostics and treatment of all stages of the disease, primarily
due to advancement in radical radiotherapy and use of the
state-of-the-art technologies (conformal and IMRT), laparoscopic
prostatectomy, and new cytostatics and hormones.
Keywords
prostatic cancer; risk factors; diagnostics; therapy; prevention
Hrčak ID:
18879
URI
Publication date:
17.10.2005.
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