Prostanoids - Protegrin

prostanoids

(prŏs-tă-nŏyds) The end products of the cyclooxygenase pathway of the metabolism of arachidonic acid. These are prostaglandins and thromboxanes. SEE: eicosanoid; prostaglandin; thromboxane A₂.

prostate

(pros′tāt″) [L. prostata fr. Gr. prostatēs, the one (gland) standing in front] A gland, consisting of a median lobe and two lateral lobes, that surrounds the neck of the bladder and the urethra in the male. It is partly muscular and partly glandular, with ducts opening into the prostatic portion of the urethra. About 2 × 4 × 3 cm, and weighing about 20 g, it is enclosed in a fibrous capsule containing smooth muscle fibers in its inner layer. Muscle fibers also separate the glandular tissue and encircle the urethra. The gland secretes a thin, opalescent, slightly alkaline fluid that forms part of the seminal fluid.

 PATHOLOGY: Inflammation of the prostate may occur, often the result of gonorrheal urethritis. Enlargement of the prostate is common, esp. after middle age. This results in urethral obstruction, impeding urination and sometimes leading to retention. Benign and malignant tumors, calculi, and nodular hyperplasia are common, particularly in men past 60. SEE: benign prostatic hypertrophy; prostate cancer.

 enlarged p. Benign prostatic hyperplasia.

prostate cancer

A malignant tumor of the prostate gland. It is almost always an adenocarcinoma. SEE: benign prostatic hypertrophy; brachytherapy; prostatectomy.

 INCIDENCE: Except for skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common neoplasm in men. In 2013 the American Cancer Society estimated that approx. 239,000 men would be diagnosed with prostate cancer and that nearly 30,000 of them would die of the disease. Approx. 1 in 6 men develops prostate cancer during their lives. The average age of diagnosis is 65 years.

 Incidence is 60% higher in African Americans than in Caucasians or Hispanics and lowest in Asians. The highest mortality is also in African Americans. Other risk factors include family history, having had a vasectomy, eating a diet high in fats and red meats and low in fruits and vegetables, and demonstrating reduced levels of vitamins D and E, lycopene, and selenium.

 CAUSES: Although the cancer may have many causes, it is a hormone-sensitive tumor (testosterone).

 SYMPTOMS AND SIGNS: The disease is often asymptomatic, or it may present with symptoms similar to those of benign prostatic hypertrophy (difficulty in urinating, urinary hesitancy, frequency, dribbling, steam reduction or interruption, and nocturia); symptoms of urinary tract infection; or in cases in which the cancer has spread to bone, localized or generalized bone pain. Prostate cancer can also spread locally or metastasize via the lymphatic system to lung, liver, and brain.

 DIAGNOSIS: Prostate cancer is diagnosed by ultrasound-guided biopsy.

 TREATMENT: Because prostate cancer is ...