If your family has been affected by prostate cancer, you might be asking: is prostate cancer hereditary?
Prostate cancer develops in the walnut-shaped gland that is responsible for producing semen
and transporting sperm. Prostate cancer is often (but not always) slow growing. It tends to stay in the prostate gland without spreading, though if left untreated, it can damage the prostate and spread to other organs.
Behind skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer amongst men. However, it’s also one of the most successfully treated, through conventional treatments or a holistic approach to prostate cancer.
When considering risk factors of cancer, these are anything that raises the risk of getting a disease like cancer. Depending on the type of cancer, there are different risk factors, like smoking, age, or family history. Risk factors don’t mean that a person will or will not get a disease, though they do help researchers assess the various factors that might contribute to the disease. Keep in mind, some people with risk factors never develop the disease, while others without any risk factors at all, do develop it. Family history is a risk factor that’s linked to prostate cancer.
And if your family history is linked to prostate cancer, it’s important to educate yourself on the potential causes. Read on!
Prostate Cancer Risk Factors
When researching factors that might affect the risk of prostate cancer, there are several 1 :
Sex
Typically, men get prostate cancer because they contain a prostate gland. However, if you are a woman and are asking yourself – can women get prostate cancer? The answer is, yes; however, extremely rare. So, men, it is important you look into the below factors to see if you have an increased risk for prostate cancer.
Age
The risk of prostate cancer in men increases with age, most notably, after age 50. Over 80% of men diagnosed with prostate cancer are 65 years or older.
Race
African-American men have a higher risk of prostate cancer and are more likely to develop prostate cancer at an earlier age. The precise reasons for this are unknown. Prostate cancer is seen most often in North America and northern Europe.
Family History
Roughly 20% of the time, prostate cancer runs in the family and is referred to as familial prostate cancer. This is due to a combination of shared genes, environmental, and lifestyle factors. According to cancer.net 2 , hereditary prostate cancer refers to cancer that is inherited from a relative. This is rare and accounts for just 5% of cancers. Hereditary prostate cancer is a result of the genes (or mutations) that are passed down within a family from one generation to the next generation.
If a man’s family history includes the following, there might be a link to hereditary prostate cancer:
- Three or more first-degree relatives with prostate cancer
- Prostate cancer in three generations (on the same side of the family)
- Two or more close relatives (such as a father, brother, son, grandfather, uncle, or nephew) on the same side of the family who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer before the age of 55
Additionally, if a man has a first-degree relative (i.e., a father, brother, or son) with prostate cancer, his risk of developing the cancer is 2 to 3 times higher than average, a number that increases with the number of diagnosed relatives.
Understanding the family history of cancer is an important step, in both male and female relatives, in taking control of your health.
If there is a family history of prostate cancer, particularly aggressive prostate cancer, in addition to breast cancer, this may increase the odds of prostate cancer. As you get more familiar with your family background and how it relates to cancer, your doctor or health professional can guide you towards the correct screenings and testings.
However, it’s important to note that most prostate cancers occur in men without a family history of it.
Gene changes
Though they most likely account for a small percentage of prostate cancer cases, several inherited gene changes (mutations) seem to raise prostate cancer risk.
These include:
- Inherited mutations of BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes — which are linked to an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancers in some families and can also increase prostate cancer risk in men (particularly mutations in BRCA2).
- Men with Lynch syndrome (which is also known as hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer, or HNPCC), and is a condition caused by inherited gene changes
Most Common Types of Prostate Cancer
The most common types of cancer found in prostate cancer patients include:
- Acinar adenocarcinoma – Cancerous cells or tumors that originate in the gland cells lining the prostate gland. This accounts for the vast majority of cases of prostate cancer.
- Ductal adenocarcinoma – Begins in the cells that line the prostate gland’s ducts. It’s a more aggressive and more invasive form of adenocarcinoma.
- Transitional cell cancer – Also known as urothelial cancer, this starts in the cells that line the urethra. While it can begin in the prostate, it most commonly begins in the bladder and then spreads to the prostate.
- Squamous cell cancer – A quickly developing and spreading cancer cells that grow on the flat cells covering the prostate.
- Small cell prostate cancer – A form of neuroendocrine cancer that is composed of small round cells.
According to the American Cancer Society, annually, there will be about 174,650 new cases of prostate cancer and about 31,620 deaths from prostate cancer. The average prostate cancer patient is a man over the age of 65 years old.
What Are the Four Stages of Prostate Cancer?
After prostate cancer has been diagnosed, whether because it was hereditary or not, it is classified into one of four stages based on three factors. When staging prostate cancer, there are scores assigned based on the three TNM factors:
T – Refers to tumor size and location
N – Is the number of nearby lymph nodes involved
M – Metastasis, or how far the cancer has spread
- Stage I – In this first stage, the cancerous cells are growing in the prostate but haven’t yet spread beyond it. The tumor is in half or less than half of the prostate.
- Stage II – In the second stage, the cancer has remained in the prostate. However, the tumor is able to touch more than half of the lobe of the prostate.
- Stage III – During the third stage, the cancer has spread outside the prostate. However, the prostate cancer cells have not made it to the lymph nodes.
- Stage IV – At this late stage, cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes, but may or may not have spread to distant organs. This depends on whether or not the cancer is stage IVA or IVB.
The listing of the stages inevitably answer the common question- can prostate cancer spread? Like other cancers, yes, it can. However, it is early detection and action that you take that prevent yourself from entering the later stages.
What to Do After A Family Member Has Been Diagnosed?
At Immunity Therapy Center, we’re on a mission to heal through prostate cancer natural treatment options. We focus on immunotherapy to strengthen the entire immune system, and at the same time, we fight the cancer cells. We understand that each cancer patient is unique, which is why we work with our patients on customized treatment plans.
Immunotherapy cancer therapy works to boost your immune system’s ability to fight on its own. When the immune system isn’t strong enough to fight cancer, if chemotherapy and other conventional treatments have weakened the immune system, or when it isn’t strong enough to fight on its own, chances are it doesn’t recognize the cancer at all. This is where immunotherapy has become a valuable part of prostate cancer treatment at natural cancer treatment centers in Mexico.
If you’re wondering whether holistic treatment for prostate cancer is the right path for you and your family, feel free to reach out to us today. With a positive outlook, we believe you can take control of your health and incorporate a natural and holistic cancer treatment plan into your life. The type of prostate cancer natural treatment we suggest has to do with your overall health, the stage of the cancer, and your past history.
With our holistic approach to prostate cancer, we also give patients the ability to combine conventional therapies and alternative therapies within their customized treatment program. Above all, we strive to give all of our patients enhanced quality of life with improved prognosis and remission.
From all of us at Immunotherapy Center, thank you for reading. We look forward to hearing from you and helping you heal from the inside out.
Written By: Dr. Adolfo Carrillo
Dr. Adolfo Carrillo is a Board Certified Medical Doctor from Universidad Autónoma de Baja California.
Dr. Carrillo has been collaborating with Dr. Bautista for over 5 years as a treating physician at the Immunity the Immunity Therapy Center. Dr. Carrillo is a charismatic Doctor whose knowledge and commitment to patient care and bringing healing to patients is a valuable asset to our center.
Sources
1. https://www.cancer.net/cancer-types/prostate-cancer/risk-factors-and-prevention
At Immunity Therapy Center, our goal is to provide objective, updated, and research-based information on all health-related topics. This article is based on scientific research and/or other scientific articles. All information has been fact-checked and reviewed by Dr. Carlos Bautista, a Board Certified Medical Doctor at Immunity Therapy Center. All information published on the site must undergo an extensive review process to ensure accuracy. This article contains trusted sources with all references hyperlinked for the reader's visibility.