Table of Contents
What are the long term effects of BPH?
First, although it has nothing to do with cancer, untreated BPH has the potential to lead to serious complications, ranging from urinary tract infections and stones in the bladder or kidney to urinary retention and kidney damage.
Can BPH lead to bladder cancer?
BPH is associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer and bladder cancer. The risk of prostate cancer is particularly high in Asian BPH patients.
Is BPH serious?
BPH, the acronym for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (or sometimes, hypertrophy), is an enlarged prostate gland, and is not typically a serious problem, nor on its own a life-threatening condition. And, to clear up a common misconception, BPH is not cancer, nor does it cause prostate cancer.
Does BPH go away?
Because BPH cannot be cured, the treatment focuses on reducing the symptoms. The treatment is based on how severe the symptoms are, how much they bother the patient and whether there are complications. The more irritating the symptoms are, the more aggressive treatment should be.
Is there a link between BPH and prostate cancer?
In both BPH and prostate cancer, the prostate gland gets larger. BPH is benign. This means it’s not cancer and it can’t spread. Prostate cancer can spread to other parts of your body. Both BPH and prostate cancer are common. About 1 out of every 7 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and 1 out of every 2 men in their 50s will have BPH.
Is BPH the same as prostate cancer?
BPH stands for benign prostatic hyperplasia. Benign means “not cancer,” and hyperplasia means abnormal cell growth. The result is that the prostate becomes enlarged. BPH is not linked to cancer and does not increase your risk of getting prostate cancer—yet the symptoms for BPH and prostate cancer can be similar.
Does BPH predispose this patient to cancer?
BPH is not considered to be a precursor of prostate cancer. It is likely that although BPH may not make prostate cancer more likely to occur, it may increase the chance of diagnosing an incidental cancer.