Prostate cancer is a relatively inert malignancy with a relatively long survival period, so many prostate cancer patients will progress to advanced stages. Generally, advanced prostate cancer has developed local invasion of cancer cells and lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis, which can lead to a range of clinical symptoms.
Local metastasis of prostate cancer cells may invade the urethra, bladder neck, seminal vesicles, etc., and may result in discomfort such as urinary frequency, urgency, painful urination, hematuria, difficulty urinating, and erectile dysfunction.
And lymph node metastases mainly metastasize to the internal iliac, external iliac, closed foramen, inguinal lymph nodes, etc., which can cause enlargement of local lymph nodes and may even cause poor drainage of local lymph nodes, veins, etc., resulting in symptoms such as swelling of the lower limbs and venous thrombosis.
Distant metastases of prostate cancer are mainly through hematogenous metastases, mostly bone metastases and visceral metastases (liver, lung, etc.), which can cause bone pain, pathological fractures, and dysfunction of the corresponding visceral organs, and if they invade nerves, such as the sciatic nerve, they can cause very intense neuralgia. In addition to this, prostate cancer is a systemic wasting disease that can present with clinical symptoms such as wasting, weakness, hypothermia, anemia, cachexia, and even multi-organ dysfunction.