Prostate health

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If you don’t know what your prostate is or what it does, you’re certainly not alone: most men don’t. But you really should. More than 30 million men suffer from prostate conditions that negatively affect their quality of life.

• Over 50% of men in their 60s and as many as 90% in their 70s or older have symptoms of an enlarged prostate (BPH).


• Each year over 230,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and about 30,000 will die of it.


• Prostatitis is an issue for men of all ages and affects 35% of men aged 50 and older.


This website offers you a guide to the prostate and various conditions that can affect your health.

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Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, and the second leading killer of men, behind lung cancer. Prostate cancer is generally very slow growing and most men die with prostate cancer (meaning that they die of some other cause) rather then from it. Still, it kills approximately 30,000 men each year. But detected early, it can be cured.

In its early stages, prostate cancer usually doesn’t cause symptoms. However, as the disease progresses, the patient may develop symptoms that are the same as for prostatitis and/or BPH (see above). Additional symptoms include:

• Chronic pain in the hips, thighs, or lower back


• Blood in the urine or semen




The lack of early symptoms and the overlap of symptoms with non-cancerous conditions makes prostate cancer difficult to diagnose. That's why it's essential that get screened regualrly.



Please note: Men's Health Network does not provide medical services. Rather, this information is provided to encourage you to begin a knowledgeable dialogue with your physician. Check with your health care provider about your need for specific health screenings.

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Prostate Drug Doesn't Limit Sexual Function In Most Men
Science Daily — Men and their physicians need not hesitate to use a drug proven effective in preventing prostate cancer out of concern that it is likely to cause sexual dysfunction, say authors of a study conducted by the Southwest Oncology Group.

The authors, who surveyed more than 17,000 men 55 and older for seven years, reported their results in the July 4 Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The study found that men given finasteride reported on average more dysfunction than did men given a placebo. That small effect diminished over the seven years.

The results allay concerns about a negative side effect associated with finasteride up till now. Physicians usually warn that sexual dysfunction is a possibility when they discuss the drug with patients. Finasteride is an FDA-approved drug for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia, but it is not yet FDA-approved for the prevention or reduction in risk for prostate cancer.

The study's large sample and long follow-up period allowed researchers to examine whether or not finasteride negatively affected sexual function and, if so, whether this effect was lasting, said Carol Moinpour, Ph.D., of the Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center in Seattle, the study's lead author. She coordinates quality-of-life studies for the Southwest Oncology Group, the nation's largest National Cancer Institute-funded clinical trials network.

The study grew out of the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial, a large double-blind National Cancer Institute-funded study which found that finasteride, a drug which curbs the proliferation of prostate gland cells, is effective at preventing prostate cancer in men age 55 and older. The 2003 results of that trial, conducted by the Southwest Oncology Group in more than 18,000 men, showed that finasteride could reduce a man's chances of getting prostate cancer by almost 25 percent.

The authors of the newly published sexual function results wanted to assess how many men in the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial reported experiencing sexual dysfunction, and whether the problems decreased or increased over time. In earlier studies, some men taking finasteride reported decreased libido, impotence and other signs of diminished sexual function. But these studies were short-term and didn't try to assess the effects of age and other health factors, as well as individual variation.

The study authors used two surveys, a widely used Sexual Problems Scale and another questionnaire which they created, the Sexual Activity Scale. They also gathered other data to take into account other health factors that affect sexual function, such as age, medical conditions and smoking status. They surveyed the subjects three times in the first year and then annually for seven years.

"Was this average decrease (in sexual function) an important difference" We concluded it was not," Moinpour said, adding that there were much larger differences due simply to individual variation among men in the trial.

The study suggests that finasteride will cause little or no sexual dysfunction for most men who decide to take it, conclude the authors.

Citation: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djm023

In addition to Moinpour, the other authors include: Amy K . Darke , Gary W . Donaldson , Ian M . Thompson, Jr. , Connie Langley , Donna Pauler Ankerst , Donald L . Patrick , John E . Ware, Jr. , Patricia A . Ganz , Sally A . Shumaker , Scott M . Lippman , and Charles A . Coltman, Jr.

The study was funded by the National Cancer Institute.

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by University of Michigan Health System.