title: The natural history of prostatic cancer.
abstract: There are inner and outer gland groups in the human prostate. Benign nodular hyperplasia develops from the inner group of glands. Cancer develops from the outer gland group and consequently spreads beyond the prostate at an early stage in the disease. The biological malignancy of prostatic cancer varies from patient to patient and from part to part of the same tumor. Some tumors remain biologically inactive or latent so that there must be some naturally-occurring factor which controls tumor growth in these cases. Prostatic cancer patients may be divided into groups which differ in their response to endocrine treatment. These differences in response may be due to changes in the host or in the tumor cells. The temporary state of tumor retardation or latency follows endocrine treatment - generally anti-androgenic - in about 70 - 80% of all cases of prostatic cancer, but whatever form of treatment is used, about 75% of all cases die within 3 years. Even in tumors which show a marked response, endocrine treatment does not destroy all tumor cells. Hormone sensitivity therefore is not a property of the tumor as a whole but may vary from part to part of the same tumor. We need adequate well controlled clinical trials before we can decide which method of teatment is best but before we can do this satisfactorily we need methods to allow us to assess the stage and biological activity of individual tumors, before treatment begins.
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000726:Androgen Antagonists; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D011379:Prognosis; D011467:Prostate / Q000473:pathology; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000726:Androgen Antagonists