The American Cancer Society describes the prostate as a walnut-shaped gland that is located underneath the bladder and in front of the rectum in men. Prostate cancer occurs when cells of the prostate transform into cells that grow uncontrollably and damage surrounding normal tissues. There are a few different types of prostate cancer, which are named based on the type of cell where the cancer originates.
Adenocarcinoma
Adenocarcinoma is the most common type of prostate cancer, accounting for over 99 percent of all prostate cancers, according to the American Cancer Society. Adenocarcinoma is a general name for a cancer that originates from a gland cell that secretes proteins. In the case of the prostate gland, the gland cells make prostate fluid that is ultimately combined with semen. Thus, in prostate adenocarcinoma, the gland cells transform into cancer cells. This type of cancer generally affects men over the age of 50.
Sarcoma
Prostate sarcoma is an extremely rare type of prostate cancer. Galil Medical, a global medical device company, reports that less than 0.1 percent of all prostate cancers are sarcomas. When sarcomas do occur, they tend to affect men at a younger age than adenocarcinomas, generally between the ages of 35 and 60 years. This type of prostate cancer grows from the connective tissues of the prostate, such as lymphatic and blood vessels, and smooth muscle cells.
Small Cell Carcinoma
Dr. Christopher Trotz, MD, in a report published in the July-August 2003 issue of the "Journal of the American Board of Family Practice," describes how small cell carcinoma of the prostate is also very rare. He reports that in reviewing the medical literature, he only found 33 cases of small cell carcinoma of the prostate. Dr. Trotz adds that small cell prostate cancer looks very similar underneath a microscope to small cell lung cancer. Scientists are not certain which cells give rise to small cell carcinoma of the prostate, but scientists think that stem cells in the prostate may be the initiating cell.
Transitional Cell Carcinoma
According to the American Cancer Society, another rare type of prostate cancer is transitional cell carcinoma. The National Cancer Institute reports that transitional cell cancer is most commonly associated with bladder or kidney cancer. Transitional cells are a type of cell that line the kidney, the bladder, or the ureter, which is the tube that carries urine from the kidney to the bladder. However, these cells also line the urethra of prostate, which carries prostatic fluid to be combined with the semen. Dr. B. Njinou Ngninkeu and colleagues from the Cliniques Universitaites Mont-Godinne and Saint-Luc in Belgium published a study of men with transitional cell carcinoma of the prostate in January 2003 in the "Journal of Urology." These investigators were able to find only 76 published cases of transitional cell carcinoma of the prostate to analyze the survival rates of men with this type of cancer. Thus, like small cell carcinoma and sarcoma of the prostate, transitional cell carcinoma is also quite rare.
References
- The American Cancer Society: What is Prostate Cancer
- "Journal of the American Board of Family Practice;" Prostate Cancer with Normal PSA: Small Cell Carcinoma of the Prostate-- A Rare Entity; Christopher Trotz, MD; January 2003.
- Galil Medical: Types of Prostatic Cancer-- Prostatic Sarcoma
- The National Cancer Institute: Transitional Cell Cancer (Kidney/Ureter)
- "The Journal of Urology;" Transitional Cell Carcinoma Involving The Prostate: A Clinicopathological Retrospective Study Of 76 Cases; B. Njinou Ngninkeu, F. Lorge, P. Moulin, J. Jamart, P.J. Van Cangh; January 2003
