Glossary of Terms

Biopsy
Under ultrasound guidance, the doctor places a narrow needle through the wall of the rectum into the abnormal or suspicious area of the prostate gland. The needle removes a cylinder of tissue, usually about 1/2 inch long and 1/16 inch across. This tissue is sent to the laboratory and examined under a microscope to see if cancer cells are present.

Brachytherapy
Internal radiation treatment is given by placing radioactive material directly into the tumor or close to it. This procedure is also called interstitial radiation therapy or seed implantation.

Catheter (urinary)
A thin, flexible tube through which fluids enter or leave the body, e.g., a tube to drain urine.

Early Detection
Early detection means that the disease is found at an early state of development, before it has grown large or spread to other sites. Many forms of cancer can reach an advanced stage without causing symptoms. Just as mammography can help find early breast cancer, the PSA blood test can help find early stage prostate cancer.

Digital Rectal Examination (DRE)
The doctor inserts a gloved finger into the rectum to feel for anything not normal. Some tumors of the rectum and prostate gland can be felt during a DRE.

External Beam Radiation
The process is much like getting a diagnostic x-ray, but for a longer time: Radiation is focused from a source outside the body on the area affected by the cancer.

Glands
A cell or group of cells that produce and release substances used nearby or in another part of the body.

Gleason Grade
The most often used prostate cancer grading system is called the Gleason system. This system assigns a Gleason grade ranging from 1-5. The grade is based on how closely the arrangement of cancer cells resembles normal cells in a healthy gland. Because prostate cancers often have areas within them of different grades, a grade is assigned to the two areas that make up most of the cancer. These two grades are added together to give a Gleason score between 2 and 10. Tumors graded Gleason score 5-6 behave only slightly worse than tumors with sores of 2-4, but significantly better than tumors graded score 7.

Gleason Score
A method of classifying prostate cancer cells on a scale of 2-10. The higher the Gleason score (also called the Gleason sum), the faster the cancer is likely to grow and spread beyond the prostate.

Hormone
A chemical substance released into the body by the endocrine glands. These glands include the thyroid, adrenal, testes and ovaries. The substance travels through the bloodstream and sets in motion various body functions. Testosterone and estrogen are examples of male and female hormones.

Hormone Therapy
Hormone therapy is 1) treatment with hormones; 2) use of drugs to interfere with hormone production or hormones action, or e) the surgical removal of hormone-producing glands Hormone therapy may kill cancer cells or slow their growth.

Metastasis
The spread of cancer cells to distant areas of the body by way of the lymph system or bloodstream.

PSA
See Prostate-Specific Antigen.

Prognosis
Prognosis is the outlook for the patient's cure, a prediction of the course of the disease.

Prostate Gland
The prostate gland is located between the penis and the bladder surrounding the urethra, and is in front of the rectum and behind the pubic bone. The prostate produces seminal fluid which transports the sperm during ejaculation. Urine is carried from the bladder outside of the body by the urethra that passes through the prostate gland for approximately 1 ½ to 2 inches. The healthy prostate is about the size of a walnut and weighs approximately one ounce.

Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA)
PSA is a protein made by the prostate gland. Levels of PSA in the blood often go up in men who have prostate cancer. The PSA test is used to help detect prostate cancer as well as to monitor the results of treatment.

Radical Prostatectomy
Surgery to remove the entire prostate gland, the seminal vesicles and nearby tissue.

TURP
See Transurethral Resection of the Prostate.

Testosterone
The male hormone that is made primarily In the testes. In men with prostate cancer, testosterone in also encourage growth of the tumor.

Three-Dimensional Conformal Therapy
This treatment uses sophisticated computers to precisely map the location of the cancer within the prostate gland. The patient is fitted with a plastic mold resembling a body cast to keep him still so that the radiation can be more accurately aimed. Radiation beams are then aimed from several directions at the spots that need it.

Transrectal Ultrasound
The ultrasound picture is taken by an ultrasound "probe'' that is inserted into the rectum, which is right next to the prostate gland. The probe transmits pictures of the prostate onto a screen, just like watching the prostate on a TV.

Transurethral Resection of the Prostate (TURP)
This operation removes part of the prostate gland that surrounds the urethra (the tube through which urine exits the bladder), This operation can be used to relieve symptoms caused by a tumor before other treatments begin, although it is not expected to curs the disease or remove all of the cancer. More often it Is used to relieve symptoms of noncancerous prostate enlargement.