Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the most diagnosed non-cutaneous malignancy and is the second leading cause of death in men worldwide.  Prostate cancer develops when malignant cells form and grow in the prostate gland. Approximately 290,000 new diagnoses of prostate cancer and nearly 35,000 deaths were estimated for the US in 2023.

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Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer

If prostate cancer spreads beyond the prostate, it is called “metastatic.” This means it is found growing in nearby organs or tissues. Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) is a form of advanced prostate cancer that shows signs of growth, like a rising PSA (prostate-specific antigen), even with low levels of testosterone. With mCRPC, the cancer stops responding to hormone treatments and can be life-threatening if it spreads to other parts of the body such as nearby lymph nodes, bones, the bladder, rectum, liver, lungs, and maybe the brain. Death from prostate cancer is typically the result of mCRPC, and historically the median survival for men with mCRPC has been less than two years.  While multiple options now exist for non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients, the unfortunate reality remains that mCRPC is an incurable disease.​

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1. Seer.cancer.gov https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/prost.html

2. Lowrance, et al. Journal of Urology, 2018 Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer: AUA Guideline Amendment 2018