What is prostate cancer?
Prostate cancer starts in the cells of the prostate gland in men. A cancerous (malignant) tumour is a group of cancer cells that can grow into and destroy nearby tissue.

What leads to prostate cancer?
The main cause is not known but a number of things may increase the risk of developing the condition like:

• Age
• Family History
• Genetic Factors
• Infection
• High Level of Male Hormone
• Diet
• Sedentary Lifestyle

How is prostate cancer diagnosed?

• Blood Test
• Ultrasound of Kidneys, Bladder and Prostate
• Cystoscopy
• Biopsy
• Prostate specific antigen test
• Digital Rectal Exam

How is it treated?

• HORMONAL THERAPY - The main aim of this therapy is to decrease the production of testosterone or to cease its functions. These effects can easily be achieved with medication or by surgical methods. This therapy is also called as androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) or androgen suppression therapy.Androgens stimulate prostate cancer cells to grow.
• CHEMOTHERAPY - This method uses drugs to inhibit the growth of cancer cells. The procedure of chemotherapy is decided by the stage and type of cancer.
• BIOLOGICAL THERAPY - Some artificial substances are used in this method to boost, direct, or restore body’s immune system against cancer. Biological therapy involves the use of living organisms, substances derived from living organisms, or laboratory-produced versions of such substances to treat disease.
• SURGICAL TREATMENT - In this method, entire prostate gland and some surrounding tissue is removed through surgery. This treatment is recommended to treat early stages of the disease.
• RADIOTHERAPY - External beam radiation therapy and brachytherapy are two types of radiation therapies that are used to treat prostate cancer. Both these methods can be used when cancer has not spread to other parts, and is confined to the prostate only. The aim is to destroy the cancer cells, while doing as little harm as possible to nearby tissues, such as the bladder or the back passage.
• CYBERKNIFE – In this method, a small incision is made and areas with cancer cells are made cold, freezing the area with a probe. The CyberKnife System delivers non-invasive treatment for the prostate cancer, where radiation is indicated. It also can be used to treat prostate cancer that has recurred after a radical prostatectomy or previous treatment.

What are the advances in prostate cancer treatment?

• IMMUNOTHERAPY :- In cases where the patient's prostate cancer is resistant to testosterone level reduction via hormone therapy, treatment options are few.. As such, most current developing immunotherapies for prostate cancer are investigating the more targeted treatment of advanced stage disease. Prostate cancer immunotherapy studies are being conducted in the following seven categories: therapeutic vaccines, oncolytic virus therapies, checkpoint inhibitors, adoptive cell therapies, adjuvant immunotherapies, cytokines, and monoclonal antibodies.
• RADIATION THERAPY :- Current methods such as conformal radiation therapy (CRT), intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), and proton beam radiation help doctors avoid giving radiation to normal tissues as much as possible. These methods are expected to increase the effectiveness of radiation therapy while reducing the side effects.
• Technology is making other forms of radiation therapy more effective as well. The radiation doses are planned which approaches for both external radiation therapy and brachytherapy.
• PROSTATE CANCER ABLATION :- Ablation means the removal of diseased body tissue such as cancerous tumors. Applying thermal energy is applied to perform image guided ablation which physically destroys the cancer. Ablation is an alternative to surgery or radiation.

Thermal ablation for prostate cancer has three main advantages over surgery:

• Same day outpatient procedure
• Reduced risk of infection
• Very rapid recovery time and return to normal activities

Ablation is done as a focal treatment with benefits like -

• Targets only the tumor with an extra safety margin
• Avoids damage to healthy prostate tissue .
• It reduces the risk of impaired sexual and urinary function

FOCAL LASER ABLATION generates intense heat that completely encompasses the targeted area.

• ROBOTIC SURGERY Robotic prostatectomy is gaining popularity as a less traumatic and minimally invasive prostate cancer treatment. The Da Vinci robotic prostatectomy helps the surgeon to overcome many of the shortcomings of both open prostatectomy and laparoscopic prostatectomy.

What is the success rate?
The success rate of prostate cancer has been around 90%