Prostate cancer is cancer that develops in the cells of the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive tract located below the bladder and in front of the rectum. Prostate cancer occurs when cells in the prostate develop abnormally and become cancerous.
Prostate cancer is common, and usually occurs in men over the age of 50, although it can sometimes occur in younger patients. It is often diagnosed in the early-stage where it is confined to the prostate gland, although more aggressive forms of the disease are sometimes diagnosed in later stages.
While it is not clear what causes prostate cancer, there are certain risk factors including age, family history of prostate cancer, obesity and ethnicity. In Singapore, Chinese men have double the risk of getting prostate cancer compared to Malay or Indian men.
The most common type of prostate cancer is Adenocarcinoma, less common subtypes include neuroendocrine carcinomas, transitional cell carcinomas and sarcomas.
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