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PROSTATE CANCER

First broadcast on www.provet.co.uk


This information is provided by Provet for educational purposes only.

You should seek the advice of your veterinarian if your pet is ill as only he or she can correctly advise on the diagnosis and recommend the treatment that is most appropriate for your pet.

Prostate cancer is common in humans, it is not common in dogs, and it is rare in cats

Cancer of the prostate gland is a serious problem because, in the dog, it is not easy to surgically remove, or to administer other anti-cancer treatments such as radiation therapy. Malignant cancer of the prostate occurs most often in old (geriatric) dogs, and cancer at this site often spreads to other parts of the body including adjacent structures such as the pelvis or spine, as well as remote organs such as the lungs or spleen.

The prostate lies at the neck of the urinary bladder, and it is close to the colon, so the signs are quite predictable :

  • Difficulty passing urine (called dysuria)
  • Straining to pass urine or faeces (due to pressure caused by the prostatic mass)
  • Blood in the urine (called haematuria) 
  • Weakness of the hindlegs, or partial paralysis
  • Pain when the prostate is touched
  • Weight loss - a typical sign of malignancy

The prostate is increased in size and an experienced veterinary clinician can usually feel the irregular shape of cancerous prostate by performing a rectal examination. XRays or ultrasound examination will also show enlargement of the prostate. However, there are other causes of prostate enlargement (eg cysts, hypertrophy) and the diagnosis has to be confirmed by laboratory examination of a biopsy. Sometimes prostate cancer cells can be found in urine samples or collected by urethral washing.

Treatment is difficult in the dog. Surgical removal can be attempted in patients in which there is no evidence that the cancer has spread. Some drugs (eg corticosteroids) may result in a temporary improvement in clinical signs and sometimes castration can produce a temporary improvement as well. Unfortunately the outlook for most cases is not good.

 

Updated October 2013