Information on Uric Acid in Prostate Cancer

The body creates uric acid as it filters and breaks down food. Uric acid dissolves into the blood, where the kidneys filter it for removal in urine. However, if the body’s mechanisms for filtering and breaking down substances are damaged, uric acid may remain in the blood, which can cause health problems. Prostate cancer often requires chemotherapy; a side-effect of chemotherapy is often hyperuricemia, or an increased amount of uric acid in the blood.

Background

• Prostate cancer affects the prostate gland, which produces seminal fluid that contains nutrients to power sperm, man’s reproductive cells. Prostate cancer is a common type of cancer, according to the Mayo Clinic, and is often slow-growing. Some types of prostate cancer cause minimal damage, staying confined to the prostate gland and not metastasizing to other areas of the body, as more aggressive cancers are known to do. Since prostate cancer is common and often slow-growing, it is treatable with early detection.

Symptoms

• Since prostate cancer is slow-growing and often confined to the prostate, there are often few or no symptoms. If prostate cancer is not caught early, advanced symptoms may occur, including blood in the urine and semen, and trouble urinating or ejaculating, according to the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

Treatment

• There are many treatment options for those with prostate cancer. There are surgical approaches, as well as radiation and chemotherapy. A prostatectomy is the surgical approach to prostate cancer. Men with an early state of cancer often undergo a prostatectomy, which removes the prostate gland and surrounding body tissues. Radiation is given to men in all stages of prostate cancer. Radiation kills tumor cells by exposing them to radioactive beams. Most radiation therapy is intensity-modulated therapy, which allows for changes in the intensity of the radiation, which is helpful in protecting surrounding tissues and cells from radiation damage. Radiation therapy treatments are usually completed on an outpatient basis for about eight weeks, according to the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Chemotherapy utilizes chemicals that kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy drugs, which are sometimes combinations of several different kinds of drugs, stop cell growth and kill cells, as well.

Side Effects

• The side effects for treatment depend on the treatment chosen. After a prostatectomy, a catheter is inserted for up to ten days, according to the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Radiation results in a slow loss of erectile function. Chemotherapy can cause uric acid to build up in the blood stream, causing hyperuricemia. The normal amount of uric acid in the blood is somewhere between 3 and 7 mg/dL, according to the NIH. High levels of uric acid in the blood can cause gout, a painful condition in the joints, or uncontrolled bleeding.

Testing

• According to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, decisions about testing for prostate cancer should be individualized. Likewise, the Mayo Clinic states that some organizations recommend men begin screening in their 50s, or if they have a genetic disposition to prostate cancer, but that there is no broad consensus among the medical community. To be tested for hyperuricemia, blood is typically drawn from the back of the hand or the crook of the elbow, according to the NIH, and blood is tested for high levels of uric acid by a lab technician.