Prostate Cancer Signs and Symptoms

Last updated: 13 September 2024
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Introduction

  • Second most common cancer in men; one of the most common cancers in men >50 years of age 

Signs and Symptoms

  • Weak urinary stream, incomplete bladder emptying
  • Polyuria, nocturia
  • Hematuria
  • Erectile dysfunction
  • Pelvic pain, back pain, chest pain
  • Lower extremity weakness or numbness
  • Loss of bladder or bowel control

Risk Factors

  • Age (increased risk in men >50 years old)
  • Positive family history: First- or second-degree relatives diagnosed with metastatic prostate, ovarian, breast (female ≤45 years old), colorectal, endometrial (≤50 years old) or pancreatic cancer, and those with ≥2 first- or second-degree relatives diagnosed with prostate, breast, colorectal or endometrial cancer at any age
  • Ethnicity (African ancestry, Ashkenazi Jewish descent)
  • Chemical exposures (toxic combustion products)
  • Genetic mutations: Breast cancer susceptibility gene 1 (BRCA1), breast cancer susceptibility gene 2 (BRCA2), ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM), checkpoint kinase 2 (CHEK2), homeobox B13 (HOXB13), epithelial cellular adhesion molecule (EPCAM), nibrin (NBN), tumor protein 53 (TP53), partner and localizer of BRCA2 (PALB2), deoxyribonucleicacid (DNA) mismatch repair genes (mutS homolog 2 [MSH2], mutL homolog 1 [MLH1], Lynch syndrome, mutS homolog 6 [MSH6], post-meiotic segregation increased 2 [PMS2]), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1)
  • Other risk factors under research include a positive medical history of inflammation of the prostate gland (eg prostatitis, sexually transmitted diseases [STDs], proliferative inflammatory atrophy [PIA]) and vasectomy