Health Topic

Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is one of the most common types of cancer among American men. The risk goes up as men age. Learn about symptoms, tests, and treatment.

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Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.

About Prostate Cancer

Cancer is a disease in which cells in the body grow out of control. Prostate cancer begins in the cells of the prostate. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system. It lies just below the bladder. It makes fluid that is part of semen.

Prostate cancer is one of the most common types of cancer. It often grows very slowly. If it does not spread to other parts of the body, it may not cause serious problems. But sometimes prostate cancer can grow quickly and spread to other parts of the body. This kind of prostate cancer is serious.

Researchers don't know for sure what causes prostate cancer. They do know that it happens when there are changes in the genetic material (DNA).

Sometimes these genetic changes are inherited, meaning that you are born with them. There are also certain genetic changes that happen during your lifetime that can raise your risk of prostate cancer. But often the exact cause of these genetic changes is unknown.

Anyone who has a prostate can develop prostate cancer. But certain factors can make you more likely to develop it:

  • Age. Your chance of developing prostate cancer increases as you get older. Prostate cancer is rare in people under age 50.
  • Family health history. Your risk of prostate cancer is higher if you have a parent, sibling, or child who has or has had prostate cancer.
  • Race. African Americans are more likely to get prostate cancer. They're also more likely to: Get prostate cancer at a younger age.
  • Have more serious prostate cancer.
  • Die from prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer doesn't always cause symptoms, especially at first. If it does cause symptoms, they may include:

  • Problems urinating (peeing), such as: A urine stream that's weak, hard to start, or starts and stops
  • Suddenly needing to urinate right away
  • Urinating often, especially at night
  • Pain or burning when urinating
  • Blood in your urine or semen

But many of these symptoms may be from other common prostate problems that aren't cancer, such as an enlarged prostate.

You should discuss your prostate health with your health care provider if you:

  • Have symptoms that could be prostate cancer
  • Have a high risk for developing prostate cancer
  • Had a screening test that suggests you could have prostate cancer

Tests which check for prostate cancer include:

  • A digital rectal exam (DRE). In this exam, your provider feels your prostate for lumps or anything unusual by inserting a lubricated, gloved finger into your rectum.
  • A prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test. A high PSA blood level may be a sign of prostate cancer. But many other things can cause high PSA levels, too.
  • Imaging tests. These tests may use ultrasound or MRI to make pictures of your prostate.

If these tests show that you might have prostate cancer, the next step is usually a prostate biopsy. A biopsy is the only way to diagnose prostate cancer.

During a biopsy, a doctor uses a hollow needle to remove some prostate tissue. The tissue is studied under a microscope to look for cancer cells.

Your treatment options usually depend on your age, your general health, and how serious the cancer is. Your treatment may include one or more options:

  • Observation,which is mostly used if you are older, your prostate cancer isn't likely to grow quickly, and you don't have symptoms or you have other medical conditions. Your doctor will keep checking on your cancer over time so to see whether you will need to start treatment for the cancer. There are two types of observation: Watchful waiting means having little or no testing. If symptoms begin or change, you will get treatment to relieve them, but not to treat the cancer.
  • Active surveillance means having regular tests to see if your prostate cancer has changed. If the tests show the cancer is starting to grow or if you develop symptoms, then you will have treatment to try to cure the cancer.

Making healthy lifestyle changes may help to prevent some prostate cancers. These changes include:

  • Being at a healthy weight
  • Quitting smoking
  • Getting enough exercise
  • Eating healthy foods

It sits within Cancers, Older Adults, Men and Male Reproductive System.

The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Cancer Institute.

When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.

Research on Prostate Cancer

7,519 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.

What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.

Research currently under way

Research already completed

Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.

Where to read more

Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.

Start Here

Symptoms

Diagnosis and Tests

Treatments and Therapies

Prevention and Risk Factors

Living With

Related Issues

Statistics and Research

Clinical Trials

Medical subject headings

Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Prostatic Neoplasms. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.

This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Prostate Cancer, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.