Scientist found that a less than 1 cubic centimeter rarely spread. Most tumors under 3.5 cubic centimeters remained inside the prostate. The bigger a tumor, however, the more aggressive it becomes. Tumors over 5 cubic centimeters are more difficult to treat.
Early prostate cancer is slow-growing often taking two to four years or longer to double the size. To reach one cubic centimeter a tumor has to double at least thirty times, and it would be about this point that a tumor can be felt by a doctor. Due to this growth pattern, prostate cancer is considered to exist into forms:
"Incidental," "histologic" and "latent" are terms for microscopic cancer seen on slides, usually at autopsy. This form is thought to affect about 60 to 70 percent of all men over 80 years old, going undetected in most. This gives physicians the rpoblem of whether or not to treat incidental cancer when discovered since it could easily continue to exist without causing any problems. In the younger man, early development of a tumor is believed to be a sign that the cancer is likely to evolve into a threatening form. Older men may well die of other causes long before their prostate cancer becomes a problem.
The second type of prostate cancer is called "clinical," "clinically significant,' "advanced", and malignant." These terms refer to cancer which may spread to other parts of the body. The nearby seminal vesicles, baldder, urethra and pelvic side walls are common sites for prostate cancer which has begun to spread. From these sites it can be carried via the lymph system and the bloodstream to sites such as bones or lungs. It can grow "silently" or cause synptoms. Clinical prostate cancer is two and one-half times less common than the incidental kind. There is a genetic connection for clinical prostate cancer. having a father or brother with the disease means a man's risk of developing it is two times greater than normal and often leads to earlier affliction. Prostate cancer in three generations of either parent's family brings a one-in-two risk of its development.
The effects of diet, nutrients and other agents are thought to act in a way which inhibits the growth of cancer beyond its first stage, called initiation.
