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`What is prostate cancer? :: Print Preview
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`Key statistics for prostate cancer
`What is prostate cancer?
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`Cancer starts when cells in the body begin to grow out of control. Cells in nearly any part of the body can become cancer
`cells, and can spread to other areas of the body. To learn more about how cancers start and spread, see What Is Cancer?
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`Prostate cancer begins when cells in the prostate gland start to grow uncontrollably. The prostate is a gland found only in
`males. It makes some of the fluid that is part of semen.
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`The prostate is below the bladder and in front of the rectum. The size of the prostate changes with age. In younger men, it is
`about the size of a walnut, but it can be much larger in older men.
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`Just behind the prostate are glands called seminal vesicles that make most of the fluid for semen. The urethra, which is the
`tube that carries urine and semen out of the body through the penis, goes through the center of the prostate.
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`Types of prostate cancer
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`Almost all prostate cancers are adenocarcinomas. These cancers develop from the gland cells (the cells that make the
`prostate fluid that is added to the semen).
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`Other types of prostate cancer include:
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`Sarcomas
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`Small cell carcinomas
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`JANSSEN EXHIBIT 2098
`Amerigen v. Janssen IPR2016-00286
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`
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`10/3/2016
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`What is prostate cancer? :: Print Preview
`Neuroendocrine tumors (other than small cell carcinomas)
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`Transitional cell carcinomas
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`These other types of prostate cancer are rare. If you have prostate cancer it is almost certain to be an adenocarcinoma.
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`Some prostate cancers can grow and spread quickly, but most grow slowly. In fact, autopsy studies show that many older
`men (and even some younger men) who died of other causes also had prostate cancer that never affected them during their
`lives. In many cases neither they nor their doctors even knew they had it.
`Possible precancerous conditions of the prostate
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`Some research suggests that prostate cancer starts out as a precancerous condition, although this is not yet known for
`sure. These conditions are sometimes found when a man has a prostate biopsy (removal of small pieces of the prostate to
`look for cancer).
`Prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN)
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`In PIN, there are changes in how the prostate gland cells look under a microscope, but the abnormal cells don’t look like
`they are growing into other parts of the prostate (like cancer cells would). Based on how abnormal the patterns of cells look,
`they are classified as:
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`Lowgrade PIN: the patterns of prostate cells appear almost normal
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`Highgrade PIN: the patterns of cells look more abnormal
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`PIN begins to appear in the prostates of some men as early as in their 20s.
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`Many men begin to develop lowgrade PIN when they are younger but don’t necessarily develop prostate cancer. The
`possible link between lowgrade PIN and prostate cancer is still unclear.
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`If highgrade PIN is found in your prostate biopsy sample, there is about a 20% chance that you also have cancer in another
`area of your prostate.
`Proliferative inflammatory atrophy (PIA)
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`In PIA, the prostate cells look smaller than normal, and there are signs of inflammation in the area. PIA is not cancer, but
`researchers believe that PIA may sometimes lead to highgrade PIN, or perhaps to prostate cancer directly.
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`Last Medical Review: 02/16/2016
`Last Revised: 03/11/2016
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