Cause

The exact cause of prostate cancer is not known, but experts believe that your age and family history (genetics) may have something to do with your chances of getting the disease. What you eat may add to your chances of getting it.

The prostate usually gets larger as you age. Having an enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH) is very common among older men and does not increase your chances of developing prostate cancer. But an enlarged prostate is sometimes caused by prostate cancer instead of BPH.

Symptoms

Prostate cancer usually doesn't cause symptoms in its early stages. When there are symptoms, they may include:

• Urinary problems, such as:
  • Not being able to urinate at all.
  • Having a hard time starting or stopping the flow of urine.
  • Having to urinate often, especially at night.
  • Having pain or burning during urination.
• Difficulty having an erection.
• Blood in your urine or semen.
• Deep and frequent pain in your lower back, belly, hip, or pelvis.

These symptoms may also be caused by:

• Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), which is an enlarged prostate. This is very common in older men. The prostate usually grows larger with age. When it gets large enough, it can press against the urethra—the tube that carries urine from the bladder through your penis—and cause bladder problems.
• Prostatitis, an infection in the prostate.
• Urinary tract infection, an infection in any of the organs that make urine or the tubes that carry it out of the body.

Symptoms that may show the cancer has spread, or metastasized, to other parts of the body include:

• Weight loss.
• Bone pain, especially in the lower abdomen, hip, pelvis, or lower back.
• Swelling in the legs and feet.

For more information about prostate cancer that has come back or spread, see the topic Prostate Cancer, Advanced or Metastatic.