How Much Chance Does Prostatitis Become Cancer?

Statistics show that prostate cancer ranks second in the global incidence of male malignancies, and lung cancer ranks first. Its incidence is still on the rise. Many patients worry that prostatitis will lead to cancer. However, insufficient research evidence at home and abroad confirms that prostatitis will lead to an increase in the incidence of prostate cancer. Therefore, there is no need to worry too much.

Prostatitis can be divided into four categories: type 1, type 2, type 3 and asymptomatic.

Type 1 is acute bacterial prostatitis, where bacteria enter the prostate through the urethra. Patients with this condition have frequent, urgent, and painful urination and even have difficulty urinating. Some patients have symptoms that spread throughout the body, such as fever and chills.

Type 2 is chronic bacterial prostatitis, which usually follows acute bacterial prostatitis. Because the pathogenic bacteria can't be completely removed, it will gradually form chronic inflammation. Patients mainly present with frequent and urgent urination or lower abdominal distension and discomfort.

Type 3 is chronic non-bacterial prostatitis or chronic pelvic pain syndrome. It is the most common type of prostatitis. This kind of disease may be related to lifestyles and habits. For example, drivers, office workers, and people of other jobs must sit for a long time, resulting in disfluency of the local blood circulation of the prostate.

The fourth type is asymptomatic prostatitis, which refers to some men who have been found to have increased inflammatory indicators in relevant examinations but do not have any symptoms. There is no need for stress or special treatment for such patients.

Patients with the first three types of prostatitis all have frequent and urgent urination and endless urine. Given this situation, patients are advised to go to the hospital for a routine urine examination and complete prostatic fluid examination, semen examination, or ultrasound examination according to the cause under the doctor's guidance. If the ultrasound examination reveals the presence of small stones or calcified plaques, it may be associated with prostatitis.

There are three common risk factors for prostate cancer:

1. Genetic family history. Suppose there are two or more male relatives with prostate cancer in the family or a family history of other malignancies. In that case, these groups of men are at significantly higher risk of developing prostate cancer. In particular, men with the BRCA2 gene are at a significantly increased risk of developing prostate cancer.

2. Race. According to a study, prostate cancer rates vary by race in the United States, the world's melting pot of nations. Black men from the Caribbean and West Africa have the highest rates of prostate cancer, followed by white men from northern Europe and relatively low rates of Asian men.

3. Diet. Chinese Americans have lower rates of prostate cancer than other ethnic groups, but studies have found higher rates among third-generation Chinese than second-generation Chinese, and rates are getting closer to native American levels. This suggests that Western lifestyle and diet habits may be related to the changes in incidence.

What tests can detect prostate cancer early?

The combination of Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA), digital rectal examination and MRI can effectively determine the risk of prostate cancer, and prostate puncture can further diagnose the malignancy of the tumor. Men over 55 should have regular PSA tests to assess their risk of prostate cancer, and regular screening for prostate cancer is now recommended for those with the BRCA2 gene as early as age 40.

For patients with prostate cancer, treatment, and rehabilitation is a long process. There may be no recurrence in more than 10 years after radical surgery, but lifelong follow-up and standard monitoring are still needed.