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When prostate cancer is low-risk, don't leave it untreatedIf Yes, it May Still Not Be Safe to Leave the Cancer Untreated Prostate cancer is a fairly common cancer among U.S. men. In 2008, In the year 2008 in the United States, there were an estimated 186,320 new cases of prostate cancer and 28,660 deaths due to prostate cancer. Many of prostate cancer patients survive for long time since their cancers are low-risk. Low risk prostate cancers are destined not to cause any harm. It is important to distinguish between those with high risk prostate cancers and those with low risk. High-risk prostate cancers will benefit from radical treatments, like surgery, radiation or chemotherapy while low-risk patients do not need any treatment. Patients are often grouped into different risk classes based on clinical T Stage(which reflects the progression of the tumor , e.g., size, invasiveness, metastatic state) , serum PSA level (which measure measures the level of prostate-specific antigen, a protein produced by the cells of the prostate gland) in the blood) , and biopsy Gleason score (which represents the histological appearance of the tumor, the higher Gleason score, the more aggressive the tumor is). Low risk localised disease has been defined as clinical T stage T1-T2, Gleason score < 6 and PSA < 10 ng/ml.Clinical stage of T1 means that the tumor is present, but not detectable clinically or with imaging. T2 means that the tumor can be palpated) on examination, but has not spread to other organs. PSA < 10 ng/ml indicates that the PSA level is slightly to moderately elevated. Men with a Gleason score between 2 and 4 had a small risk (4-7%) of dying from prostate cancer within 15 years from diagnosis. The same number for men with a Gleason score between 5 and 6, and 7 and 10 are 6-30% and 42-87%. NOTE: Issues on this site regarding men's health and their concerns, are provided for information only, and are not meant to substitute for the advice of your own physician or other medical professional. Prostate-Report.org does not endorse any specific product, service or treatment. |
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