Understanding Prostate Cancer
Atlanta Prostate Center's board-certified urologists deliver specialized care for prostate cancer, including screening, accurate diagnosis, and the full range of treatment options.
What Is Prostate Cancer?
The prostate is a small gland that sits below the bladder and in front of the rectum. It surrounds the upper part of the urethra, which is the tube urine and semen pass through. The gland's main job is to produce part of the fluid that makes up semen.
Prostate cancer happens when cells inside the prostate begin to grow in an uncontrolled way. Many of these cancers grow slowly and stay confined to the gland for years. Others grow more quickly or spread beyond the prostate to nearby tissue, lymph nodes, or bone. The treatment plan a urologist recommends depends heavily on which kind of behavior the cancer is showing, which is why diagnosis and grading matter so much.
Signs and Symptoms to Pay Attention To
Early prostate cancer often causes no symptoms, which is part of why screening matters. When symptoms do appear, they often overlap with non-cancerous conditions like benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) or prostatitis and should be evaluated rather than self-diagnosed. If symptoms come on suddenly, are severe, or include heavy bleeding, fever with urinary symptoms, or an inability to urinate at all, treat them as urgent and seek care right away. For ongoing concerns, schedule a consultation or call 404-586-4570.
Changes In Urinary Flow
Trouble starting urination, a weak stream, or interrupted flow
Frequent or Nighttime Urination
Needing to urinate frequently, especially at night
New Erectile Difficulty
Trouble with erections that is new or persistent
Blood in Urine or Semen
Visible blood at any point in either fluid
Lower Back, Hip, or Pelvic Pain
New, unexplained pain that does not resolve
Painful Urination
Pain or burning during urination
Types of Prostate Cancer
Most prostate cancers are adenocarcinomas, which means they begin in the gland cells of the prostate. Other types are less common and are sometimes more aggressive in their behavior, which is one reason a biopsy and pathology review matter so much when planning treatment. The pathology report from a prostate biopsy will name the type of cancer found and assign a Gleason score, which is the basis for grading. Both pieces of information shape the treatment conversation.
- Acinar adenocarcinoma: By far the most common form of prostate cancer. The prostate is largely made up of acinar gland cells, and these are usually where the cancer begins.
- Squamous cell carcinoma: Rare. It tends to grow more quickly than adenocarcinoma.
- Ductal adenocarcinoma: A less common form that starts in the cells lining the ducts of the prostate. It can behave more aggressively than the acinar type.
- Transitional cell (urothelial) carcinoma: Begins in the cells lining the urethra and can extend into the prostate. It is less common and is treated differently from a typical prostate adenocarcinoma.
- Small cell carcinoma and other neuroendocrine tumors: Rare and aggressive. They are uncommon enough that most men with a prostate cancer diagnosis will not encounter them, but they are part of why pathology review is part of every plan.
Stages and Grading
Prostate cancer is described in two ways at the same time: the grade describes how the cancer cells look under a microscope, and the stage describes how far the cancer has spread.
Gleason Score & Grade Group
Pathologists assign a Gleason score based on the appearance of the cancer cells in a biopsy. The score is then translated into a Grade Group, ranging 1 through 5. Lower grade groups generally describe slowergrowing cancers; higher grade groups describe more aggressive behavior.
Stage I Through Stage IV
Stages describe the cancer's reach. Stage I and stage II disease are contained inside the prostate. Stage III means the cancer has grown into nearby tissue but has not reached distant sites. Stage IV means the cancer has reached lymph nodes, bone, or other organs. Stage and grade together drive whether monitoring, local treatment, or systemic treatment is the right starting point. Your urologist will walk you through the specific results from your biopsy and imaging before any treatment decision is made.
Who is a Candidate for PEF Ablation?
PEF ablation is ideal for men with localized prostate cancer who want to preserve quality of life.
- Men with low to intermediate-risk prostate cancer
- Localized tumors (T1c-T2b)
- PSA levels typically under 15 ng/mL
- Gleason score 6-7 (3+4)
- Desire to preserve urinary and sexual function
- Preference for outpatient treatment
How Prostate Cancer Is Diagnosed
If a PSA result, a DRE finding, or a symptom raises concern, a urologist will usually take a stepped approach rather than jumping straight to a biopsy. The goal is to gather enough information to either rule out cancer or characterize it accurately enough to plan the right treatment.
What is HIFU Treatment?
High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) is an advanced, non-surgical treatment for localized prostate cancer. HIFU directs precise beams of focused ultrasound energy directly at cancerous tissue in the prostate, generating heat that destroys cancer cells while leaving surrounding healthy tissue and nerves intact.
The procedure requires no incisions, no radioactive materials, and no extended hospital stay. It is performed on an outpatient basis at our state-of-the-art surgery centers, and most patients return home the same day.
What to Expect
At Atlanta Prostate Center, we make things easy with a clear, step-by-step process so you can focus on healing.
