Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia - Symptoms and Treatment

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia is a condition in which the prostate gland gets larger, often making it difficult to urinate. It usually affects men over 40 years of age. The condition can be managed by medication, surgery, or other treatments.

There are two types of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: non-cancerous and cancerous. Non-cancerous causes reduced urine flow in short intervals, while cancerous causes frequent urination with no results in decreased urine volume.

Non-cancerous BPH can be treated with medication that works to decrease secretion or block production of testosterone in the body, reduce the size of the prostate gland or shrink overactive tissue cells within the gland.

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia is a common condition that affects up to 15% of men over the age of 40. Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia is a type of prostate cancer found in about 9% of men over the age of 40, with about 1/100 returning after treatment with radiation therapy. Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia is more common among African-Americans and Hispanics.

Cancer of the prostate occurs from increased cell growth within the gland, which causes benign tumors called enlargement prostatic cancers.

Although benign, enlargement prostatic cancers can become malignant (cancerous) which is called malignant prostate cancer. The disease is more common among African-Americans and Hispanics, with up to 6 million men living with this type of cancer in the United States.

Prostate cancer occurs almost exclusively in men over 60 years of age, however, it's one of the most common malignancies in black men.

About 50% of malignant prostatic cancers are hormone-refractory (non-responsive to hormonal therapy). This means that after hormonal treatment there will be no improvement in symptoms or tumor size. And the only way to treat these types of tumors is by surgery.

Signs and Symptoms

The main symptom of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia is difficulty in urinating.

Other symptoms include: burning or pain when urinating especially at the beginning or end of urination, urgency to urinate, incomplete emptying of the bladder, urinary leaks, blood in the urine.

Exams and Tests

Diagnosis begins with a physical exam. Imaging tests like ultrasound (ultrasound pictures), computed tomography (CT) scan, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be used to look for enlarged prostate gland which can cause difficulty in urinating. A needle biopsy is often done to determine if there are any cancerous cells within the enlarged prostate gland.

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia is usually diagnosed by changes of the prostate gland through a doctor's physical examination.

The doctor will look for an enlarged prostate gland on an ultrasound of the prostate gland. If it has enlarged, the doctor also looks to see if there are any changes in the shape of the gland or any nodules are seen on an ultrasound of the prostate gland.

A doctor may have to use a needle biopsy to take a small piece of more than one lobe of tissue from within the prostate.

This procedure can also be done with an endoscope that guides a thin fiber-optic tube into the outer urethra which allows light through, enabling imaging. The sample from the tissue is then sent to a lab for analysis.

This disease can also be detected through urine tests that can show abnormal levels of prostatic acid phosphatase. A blood test, including a prostate-specific antigen test, may also indicate a higher risk of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia.

A doctor may or may not recommend a biopsy. A biopsy is a surgical procedure in which a needle is used to remove a small piece of tissue from the prostate gland to examine it under magnification with special microscopes and help determine if there are any cancerous cells present.

What Is The Treatment?

Non-cancerous Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia can be treated with medication that works to decrease secretion or block production of testosterone in the body, reducing the size of the prostate gland or shrink overactive tissue cells within the gland.

The main treatment for cancer of the prostate is surgery for early localized disease and/or radiation therapy and brachytherapy (high dose fractionated external beam radiotherapy) for later stages of localized disease. Localized disease is cancer that stays in one spot and has not spread to other parts of the body.

What Are Its Therapy And Surgery?

Treatment involves the removal of the enlarged prostate gland followed by hormone therapy to reduce prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. The therapy will reduce the size of the enlarged gland, decrease secretion of hormones and raise PSA levels.

Following surgery, another procedure may be done known as permanent stent placement, where a metal or plastic tube is inserted into the urethra to maintain the functionality of the urethra while hormonal treatment continues.

If cancer originates in one lobe but has spread to other parts of the body, radiation therapy and/or brachytherapy will be used to treat disease more than 90% of cancer cases are localized (<1%).