Does age influence how fast prostate cancer bone mets grow?
Would they grow slowly in an older person because their entire body is old and thus is an inefficient medium for the cells to grow in?
On the other hand, it’s easy to imagine that cancer cells in an elderly body would more easily proliferate with aggression because an aged body can’t combat the cancer as well as a younger body can.
“There is some evidence to suggest that prostate cancer bone metastases might progress more slowly in older patients,” says Jonathan Stegall, MD, an integrative oncologist and medical director for The Center for Advanced Medicine adult cancer treatment center.
“However, the research is not definitive on this.
“In general, we consider the expected progression of bone metastases to be similar to what we see in men in their 60s and 70s.”
Another point to consider is that Joe Biden was 82 when diagnosed with prostate cancer that had spread to his bones.
But his overall Gleason score was reported as a 9. The highest that the overall score can be is a 10.
A Gleason score of 8 to 10 means an aggressive (fast growing) cancer.
The higher the Gleason score, the more different the cancer cells are from normal cells in the prostate.
Dr. Stegall adds that “One important factor to consider is the overall health of the patient, which applies regardless of age.
“Patients with other comorbidities [e.g., heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity], especially those which require significant treatment, as well as those who are less active and less healthy overall, are more likely to encounter complications with their bone metastases — including faster progression.”
Nevertheless, prostate cancer in younger men, though uncommon, is often more aggressive, and it’s also more likely to be genetically driven.
Some factors can lead to prostate cancer in men under 55 such as family history (the strongest known risk factor), mutations in genes such as BRCA1, BRCA2 and HOXB13, and being of African descent.
High fat diets, obesity, smoking and chronic inflammation – which are well-established risks for prostate cancer in general — may contribute to earlier development of this disease, though these links to earlier development are still being researched.
Some early-onset prostate cancers occur without known risk factors, possibly due to spontaneous mutations or epigenetic changes not yet fully understood.
A man’s best defense against fast growing prostate cancer is the same defense against any form of prostate cancer: get as healthy and as fit as possible.
• Don’t smoke. Even if you’ve been smoking for years, it’s well worth it to quit.
• Don’t drink. If you’re worried about prostate cancer, and especially if you have a family history, avoid alcohol altogether.
• Make exercise a priority no matter how “busy” you are.
• Don’t allow yourself to become overweight.
• If you’re overweight, and especially in the obese range, make a valiant effort to get your weight into a healthy range.
• Make your diet plant based with limited ultra-processed foods.
• Avoid processed meats (salami, pepperoni, sausage, bacon, luncheon and deli meats).
• Limit dairy consumption.
Get regular checkups from a urologist, and know the symptoms that prostate cancer can cause.
Jonathan Stegall, MD,
