Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men and can be fatal if left untreated. There are various treatment strategies that offer a good prognosis. One treatment option is chemotherapy for prostate cancer. You can find more information on this and specialists for chemotherapy for prostate cancer here.
The prostate, also known as the prostate gland, is a small organ in men that is located below the bladder and surrounds the urethra. It responds to growth hormones such as testosterone and, like the mammary gland, is therefore susceptible to cancer. Prostate cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in men.
The risk of developing prostate cancer increases with age and if there are other cases in the family.
Prostate cancer often causes no symptoms in the early stages. The carcinoma is therefore often discovered by chance. At an advanced stage, symptoms such as
may occur. The diagnosis is made
If an advanced stage of cancer is suspected, a scintigraphy can help in the search for possible metastases.
Painful bone metastases can occur in advanced prostate cancer.
Several treatment options are available for the treatment of prostate cancer:
Prostate cancer grows very slowly and therefore has a good prognosis.
Chemotherapy for prostate cancer is a form of treatment in the field of oncology. It attempts to fight the cancer cells with powerful drugs.
On its own , chemotherapy for prostate cancer has no curative effect. It is therefore often used in combination with radiotherapy or after surgery at a locally advanced stage. The latter means that the cancer cells have already broken through the organ capsule and affected neighboring organs such as the bladder.
Alternatively, chemotherapy is used for palliative purposes to slow down the further growth of the tumor. A cure is then not possible, but chemotherapy prolongs life and improves quality of life.
Several drugs with different approaches are available for the chemotherapy of prostate cancer.
The actual chemotherapy involves the use of cytostatic drugs. These cancer drugs are very aggressive and inhibit cell growth. They act on all cells in the body, but especially on tumor cells, as these multiply particularly quickly.
Cytostatic drugs have a stronger effect than hormone therapy drugs, but have stronger side effects. Active substances for this are, for example, docetaxel and carbazitaxel.
During chemotherapy, the patient receives strong drugs that have a particularly strong effect on fast-growing cells such as cancer cells © Tyler Olson | AdobeStock
Hormone therapy is not chemotherapy in the strict sense, but is also a drug therapy approach.
In prostate cancer, there is an uncontrolled proliferation of prostate cells in the body. This proliferation can be inhibited at various levels with hormone therapy.
In hormone therapy , medication intervenes in the body's own hormone cycle. The hypothalamus in the brain sends signals to the pituitary gland, which in turn sends hormones to the testicles. Testosterone production takes place in the testicles.
The hormone testosterone causes
During hormone therapy, the medication prevents the transmission of growth signals from the hypothalamus. As a result, the testicles produce less testosterone. These medications include
Another starting point is the testosterone receptor, which is located in the prostate. Drugs such as bicalutamide or flutamide block its receptors so that the testosterone cannot exert its effect.
In the aftercare of chemotherapy, the main focus is on coping with the side effects. They are treated individually.
Aftercare also includes
approximately every three to six months.
Depending on the preparation, side effects of hormone therapy can include
may occur.
Chemotherapy is more aggressive than hormone treatment and has more serious side effects. It can cause
can occur.
The prognosis of prostate cancer depends on various factors. The decisive factor is mainly the microscopic condition of the prostate tissue.
Also
also influence the chances of recovery from prostate cancer.
However, the body's successful response to hormone or chemotherapy and the success of the operation are fundamental. Complete removal of the tumor without leaving resection margins would be optimal.
Prostate carcinoma is diagnosed very frequently and can lead to dangerous bone metastases if left untreated. The diagnosis is relatively unproblematic and, due to the existence of many therapeutic approaches, the prognosis is often very positive with early treatment.
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