Prostate: Anatomic Considerations
Thomas M. Wheeler, MD, presents anatomic considerations relating to the prostate and prostate cancer for clinicians. He begins by illustrating why prostate cancer rarely metastasizes via the neighboring rectum, usually spreading to the rest of the body via the neurovascular bundle.
Dr. Wheeler then presents a few examples of prostate cancer, noting that most prostate cancer is multifocal. He presents multiple cross-sections of prostate cancer to illustrate the differences between multifocal cancer, index cancer, and large volume unifocal prostate cancer.
Dr. Wheeler concludes by reviewing the history of differentiating prostate zones, tumor volume and Gleason scores in prostate cancer, and what they indicate in patient prognosis. He notes that levels of capsular invasion, perineural invasion diameter, and presence of intraductal carcinoma are all significant prognostic indicators.
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