Bone metastases from prostate cancer require comprehensive treatment

  Prostate cancer is the sixth most common malignancy in the world. In the United States, the incidence of prostate cancer ranks first among male malignancies, and the mortality rate is second only to lung cancer, with one out of every six older Americans suffering from prostate cancer. With the aging of China’s population, the incidence of prostate cancer is also increasing year by year, and its impact on the health of elderly men is gradually coming to the fore. The incidence of prostate cancer in the Shanghai area was 2.6/100,000 in 1985 and grew to 7.7/100,000 in 2000 and is expected to reach 100,000/100,000 in 2005. The situation is similar in Beijing, where the incidence rate was 2.36/100,000 in 1985. From 1985 to 1995, the number of prostate cancer cases in urban areas increased 2.3 times and is now expected to reach 100/100,000 as well.  Bone metastasis is the main manifestation of advanced prostate cancer prostate cancer is the malignant tumor most prone to bone metastasis, more than 80% of prostate cancer patients will develop bone metastasis. Bone metastasis lesions can be found in the iliac bone, vertebrae, ribs, skull and proximal end of long bones, mostly occurring in areas with rich blood flow in the middle axis of the bone. The most common and earliest clinical manifestation of prostate cancer bone metastasis is pain in the bones. The constant dull pain often affects the patient’s appetite and daily rhythm of life, so that the patient loses weight and suffers from pain day by day. Secondly, as the bones are “eaten” by the tumor cells little by little, the metastatic bones are prone to pathological fractures. If the tumor cells invade the vertebrae of the spine, the collapse of the vertebrae will cause the symptoms of spinal cord compression, which will make the treatment more difficult.  Treatment of bone metastases from prostate cancer is a combination of treatments that are often sensitive to male androgen resistance therapy in the early stages of prostate cancer. However, as the disease progresses, this androgen-resistant treatment will gradually lose its effect while the prostate cancer progresses to an advanced stage. Fortunately, Mr. Zhao’s disease is sensitive to androgen resistance therapy even though it is in the advanced stage of prostate cancer. Through oral medication and necessary surgical intervention, his androgens were brought down to a certain level. To relieve the symptoms of bone pain, his doctor administered a special drug whose main ingredient is bisphosphonates. As the drug was introduced into Mr. Zhao’s body drop by drop, the bone pain torture left him step by step and a smile gradually bloomed on Mr. Zhao’s face. Three weeks later, Mr. Zhao walked out of the hospital’s door with ease.  In addition to the above mentioned endocrine therapy (androgen resistance therapy) and bisphosphonate drug therapy, the treatment of prostate cancer bone metastasis can also be treated with chemotherapy, external radiation therapy, radionuclide internal radiation therapy and the combination of various therapies depending on the condition. Other cutting-edge treatments, such as immunotherapy and gene therapy, are still in the experimental research stage and have few clinical applications, but they have very broad application prospects.  Most patients with bone metastases from prostate cancer are found because they feel pain in one of the bones in their body and go to the orthopedic department of the hospital. However, unfortunately, by this time, the prostate cancer has already progressed to an advanced stage. Therefore, early detection of prostate cancer is very important.  The most effective method for early detection of prostate cancer is rectal examination plus serum PSA concentration measurement. Careful rectal examination is important for the early diagnosis and staging of prostate cancer. PSA is a specific serum indicator of prostate cancer, usually ≤4ng/ml in normal people, and if it is higher than this indicator, it will attract the doctor’s attention. prostate-related examination.