What is Prostate Cancer?

The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that makes some of the seminal fluid that nourishes sperm and carries semen out of the body. The prostate is located below the bladder and in front of the rectum. It surrounds the urethra, or the tube that carries urine out of your body. Almost all prostate cancers are adenocarcinomas, which form in the glandular cells that make seminal fluid.

Some doctors believe prostate cancer begins as a pre-cancerous condition known as prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN). About half of all men over the age of 50 develop this condition, in which the cells of the prostate look slightly abnormal under a microscope. Doctors usually perform a biopsy to be sure men with this condition do not have invasive cancer. However, it is unclear whether this condition eventually develops into prostate cancer.

Please click here for more information on risk assessment and the Gleason grading system for prostate cancer.