Many men wondering How to Differentiate Prostate Cancer and BPH opt to manage their BPH symptoms with ‘watchful waiting’. This approach entails forgoing medications, even those like prostate vitamins that increase urination issues, and scheduling annual examinations with healthcare professionals. These experts will examine their prostate through the front of the rectum using DRE, which involves inserting gloved fingers into the rectum to feel for the prostate. PSA levels tend to rise both in BPH and cancer cases.
Symptoms
BPH and prostate cancer both produce urinary symptoms, although the mechanisms are distinct. With BPH, symptoms may arise from an enlarged prostate pressing on the tube that carries urine from the bladder through the penis to outside of the body (urethra); cancer typically starts on its outer edges without directly pressurizing urethra. Common symptoms associated with BPH are frequent night-time need to urinate, weak flow of urine production and an unsatisfied bladder feeling after each time one urinates.
The prostate gland lies at the center of male reproductive system, just below the bladder, and measures roughly the size of a walnut. It produces prostatic specific antigen (PSA), which rises with age in blood samples from male patients. PSA can help doctors detect small amounts of prostate cancer cells.
No risk increases from either BPH or prostate cancer for men; however, symptoms can be bothersome and should not be disregarded. Men experiencing mild symptoms of BPH often find relief through taking alpha-reductase inhibitor medications to relax bladder and urethra muscles – known as alpha-reductase inhibitors; generally the most effective medications include Tadalafil and Sildenafil citrate as both decrease pressure on urethra pressure while improving urination in three-quarters of men – although side effects include decreased sex drive painful or difficult ejaculation as well as loss of bladder control.
Alternatively, if a man’s symptoms do not improve with these medications, doctors may explore other therapies. Watchful waiting is one option available to those living with BPH; no treatment is begun immediately but annual doctor visits to monitor symptoms are held instead. Other patients can opt for surgery combined with medications – the specific surgery required can vary between patient and physician – or some combination thereof may even include surgery alone as one form of treatment; those living with an enlarged prostate should avoid over-the-counter cold and sinus medications that contain decongestants which could worsen symptoms like frequent needing or weak urine flow when combined together with decongestants that worsen symptoms like needing frequent needing or weak flow of urine when taken regularly over time.
Physical Examination
Prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), two conditions associated with an enlarged prostate, share many symptoms but require different diagnostic tools to accurately identify. A digital rectal exam, whereby physicians use gloved fingers to feel the size and firmness of the prostate through its circumferential surface area; as well as PSA tests are both vital tools in distinguishing them from one another.
The PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test is one of the primary ways to identify abnormal prostate growth. PSA is produced by the prostate gland, normally found in small amounts in blood plasma; when an enlarged prostate increases PSA levels in its entirety. As part of standard testing procedures, total PSA levels (both bound and free forms) must be assessed; only free forms have been linked with benign conditions like BPH while bound forms typically indicate prostate cancer; so doctors measure percentage free PSA to differentiate BPH from prostate cancer.
Men, as they age, naturally experience their prostate increasing in size. Over time, this increased size can start pressing against their bladder and urethra causing symptoms like dribbling or incomplete urine flow after urination; sometimes accompanied by frequent urges to urinate; The National Cancer Institute estimates that BPH affects one out of every four men by age 55 while half all men by 75 years old.
BPH does not pose the same health threats associated with prostate cancer and cannot spread. But if you exhibit the symptoms associated with BPH, seeing a urologist will still help reduce or prevent complications associated with it.
Doctors may prescribe medications such as alpha blockers or 5-alpha reductase inhibitors to treat BPH and its symptoms, including obstruction. Minimally invasive procedures like Rezum(r) Water Vapor Therapy can also be helpful for mild-to-moderate symptoms; surgery is also available if severe pain persists. Dietary changes and increased fluid consumption (particularly water at night ) may help manage symptoms as well.
Blood Tests
Men with BPH often have elevated PSA levels due to prostate gland secretions of PSA protein into the blood. With an enlarged prostate gland, PSA levels rise and this test can help diagnose BPH or prostate cancer; however, PSA alone cannot determine which exists; other tests must also be run to establish diagnosis.
Digital Rectal Examination (DRE). A doctor will insert their gloved finger into the rectum and press on the bladder in order to examine prostatic tissue for any signs of an enlarged prostate. They may also utilize post-void residual volume (PVRV) testing which measures how much urine remains in your bladder after you urinate and an ultrasound of the prostate. Biopsy testing for prostate cancer is another common way doctors assess risk. Traditionally, doctors would remove small samples from prostate tissue under microscope for examination before newer DNA-based tests allow doctors to analyze DNA of cells – these tests allow doctors to identify mutations linked with prostate cancer risk.
Scientists conducted an intensive examination of gene expression patterns found in prostate samples collected from both those suffering with BPH and those diagnosed with prostate cancer. To make comparisons easier, scientists identified genes with high discriminative power between these groups, using weighted gene analysis as a statistical measure that computes how much of any variation in expression can be attributed to prostate cancer or BPH respectively.
Researchers have developed a blood test which may enable doctors to distinguish between BPH and prostate cancer. This test measures levels of an inactive form of PSA combined with measurements of free PSA and an indicator molecule for testosterone production within your body. Another new blood test checks urine samples for proteins produced by prostate cancer cells as well as compounds produced as waste byproducts from these cells, providing clues of BPH or cancer diagnosis.
Urinary Tests
The prostate is a walnut-sized gland located below and in front of the bladder and sits just behind the rectum. It produces semen that’s secreted out through its tube known as the urethra into urine outflow from the body, but when BPH causes its prostate gland to enlarge it puts pressure on this urethra tube which then prevents complete bladder emptying, leading to symptoms like weak urine flow, frequent nighttime urination, feeling that one hasn’t completely passed urine and an incomplete bladder emptying feeling after passing urine (also called uni-emptiness of full emptying the feeling). BPH may even lead to blood in urine as a direct result of having blocked outflow from exiting.
Doctors typically utilize PSA tests and physical exams as primary methods for diagnosing BPH or prostate cancer. Both conditions exhibit similar symptoms, so an initial examination might not reveal which condition a patient is suffering from; further tests will likely need to be completed in order to make an accurate assessment.
Doctors can accurately diagnose BPH by reviewing his medical history and performing a physical exam that includes using the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS). A score of five or more points suggests the individual may have BPH and should consult with a urologist for treatment.
Urologists can assist men who suffer from BPH by prescribing medications to manage it, such as alpha-blockers, 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors or tamsulosin. Some individuals also find relief through diet changes that reduce fat and high-calorie foods while increasing fiber.
Men with a PSA score of 7 or greater and who have undergone an in-depth urological evaluation could benefit from taking part in a PHI test, which detects PCA3 in their urine and can help distinguish prostate cancer from benign prostatic hyperplasia (bph). It can help a doctor assess if further investigation or biopsy are required and also gauge whether aggressive cancerous cells exist within.
Current methods for diagnosing prostate cancer typically involve blood tests, digital rectal examination or cystoscopy, ultrasound or MRI examination and biopsy as part of their routine procedures. A new urine test known as PUR Test could make detection simpler by screening for cancer cells without biopsies being necessary and providing insight into whether prostate cancer will progress to allow active surveillance instead of immediate treatment.