Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in European males, with a lifetime risk approaching 10%. It is predominantly a disease of older men.
The usual type of prostate cancer is an adenocarcinoma and this arises from the cells that line the secretory ducts of the prostate. A measure of the aggressiveness of the cancer is made by the pathologist from the biopsy using Gleason scoring – a scoring system that grades by different characteristics associated with aggressiveness and leading to scores between 2 (very indolent) to 10 (very aggressive). Research assays may, in the future, detect more aggressive characteristics by other means: One research assay detects mutated copies of the gene p53 (in the healthy form being a tumour suppressor gene). Damaged versions occur in many malignancies and are associated with tumour progression. Other genetic assay work may become relevant in the future.
