Things aren’t always as they seem –

While you probably know that an enlarged prostate is a possible warning sign of prostate cancer, research reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology suggests that in men who have the disease, smaller prostate size is actually predictive of a more aggressive tumor type. According to a story at Reuters, researchers evaluated over 1600 prostate cancer patients whose prostates had been surgically removed, and then correlated the severity of their disease with prostate weight. They found that the smaller the prostate size, the higher the risk of an aggressive (or high-grade) prostate cancer. Small prostate size was also associated with incomplete removal of the tumor, growth of the cancer outside of the prostate, and a higher chance that PSA levels would rise after treatment.

Talk about mixed messages: if you don’t have prostate cancer you have to worry about having an enlarged prostate…if you do have prostate cancer you have to worry about having a small prostate.

SOURCE: Reuters – Smaller prostate size, more aggressive cancer

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