Prostate Cancer White Blood Cell Count

The Test Is Often Not Needed

Most men with high PSAs dont have prostate cancer. Their high PSAs might be due to:

• An enlarged prostate gland.
• Recent sexual activity.
• A recent, long bike ride.

Up to 25% of men with high PSAs may have prostate cancer, depending on age and PSA level. But most of these cancers do not cause problems. It is common for older men to have some cancer cells in their prostate glands. These cancers are usually slow to grow. They are not likely to spread beyond the prostate. They usually dont cause symptoms, or death.

Studies show that routine PSA tests of 1,000 men ages 55 to 69 prevent one prostate cancer death. But the PSA also has risks.

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When To Call The Doctor

If you have any of the following symptoms, call your health care provider:

• Fevers, chills, or sweats. These may be signs of infection.
• Diarrhea that does not go away or is bloody.
• Severe nausea and vomiting.
• Being unable to eat or drink.
• Extreme weakness.
• Redness, swelling, or drainage from any place where you have an IV line inserted into your body.
• A new skin rash or blisters.
• Pain in your stomach area.
• A very bad headache or one that does not go away.
• A cough that is getting worse.
• Trouble breathing when you are at rest or when you are doing simple tasks.
• Burning when you urinate.

Can Cancer Cause Low White Blood Cell Count

The chemotherapy used to treat cancer can interfere with the normal function of your bone marrow. This is where your WBCs are made.

Chemotherapy affects your entire body, so it can reach the cells of your bone marrow even though the cancer its treating may be elsewhere in your body. Damage to white blood cells can cause your WBC count to drop.

Radiation therapy is confined to a specific location, but if the treatment area includes large bones that produce marrow, this can also cause your WBC count to decrease.

A viral infection can also affect your WBC count. If the infection disrupts the white cell production in your bone marrow, your WBC count will decrease.

Sometimes, cancer growth in bone marrow can interfere with the normal production of WBCs which lowers their count.

If cancerous cells from your lungs have spread to your bone marrow and then multiplied, this is called metastasis. Bone metastases happen in

Lung cancer is not diagnosed with bloodwork. Instead, lung cancer is usually discovered because it causes symptoms. Doctors make their final diagnosis after examining a sample of lung cells in a lab.

Information and procedures that doctors can use to diagnose lung cancer and monitor its spread include:

• medical history
• imaging tests like X-rays, CT scans, MRI scans, PET scans, and bone scans
• sputum cytology

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White Blood Cell Count

This test measures the number of white blood cells in a drop of blood. A low WBC count may be due to chemotherapy, a viral infection, a toxic reaction, or a process in the bone marrow that limits the bodys ability to make normal WBCs. A high WBC count may result from an infection or leukemia. A person is at an increased risk of infection if his/her WBC count drops below 1,000 cells per microliter.

Normal values:

• Range from 3,700 to 10,500

A High White Blood Cell Count In My Prostate Means What

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High Blood Pressure And Prostate Cancer Are You At Risk

by Dr. Keith Nemec

It has long been understood that there is a direct causal link between high blood pressure and a number of chronic health disorders. The links between hypertension and heart disease are particularly well documented. But recent studies in Europe and the United States are revealing that there is a surprising connection between long term high blood pressure and the development of certain cancers. These studies have specifically linked high blood pressure with an increased risk for prostate cancer in men. Even more disturbing, is the apparent link between high blood pressure and mortality rates in men diagnosed with prostate cancer.

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Why Can Chemotherapy Cause Anemia

Anemia is a very common side effect or unwanted change in your body that can happen when you have chemotherapy to control your prostate cancer. Anemia happens because the anticancer medicines you take can affect the healthy cells in your body, including your blood cells. The anemia you may get from your chemotherapy treatment can cause you to feel tired or short of breath when you are active. This may make you feel frustrated and hopeless. You are not alone. Anemia caused by chemotherapy treatment will get better. Your red blood cell count should go back to normal when your treatment is over. The important thing to remember is that anemia caused by your chemotherapy can be treated.

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What Causes Low Blood Counts

The most common reason cancer patients experience low blood counts is as a side effect of chemotherapy. Chemotherapy involves the use of drugs to destroy cancer cells. Chemotherapy works by destroying cells that grow rapidly, a characteristic of cancer cells. Unfortunately, chemotherapy also affects normal cells that grow rapidly, such as cells in the bone marrow that produce red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.

< h3What are the symptoms of low blood counts?

Your symptoms will depend on which types of blood cells are low. Common symptoms of the different types of low blood cell counts are listed in table 1.

Table 1 Common symptoms of low blood counts

Low red blood cells

Questions You May Want To Consider Asking Your Doctor Include:

• What type of prostate problem do I have?
• Is more testing needed and what will it tell me?
• If I decide on watchful waiting, what changes in my symptoms should I look for and how often should I be tested?
• What type of treatment do you recommend for my prostate problem?
• For men like me, has this treatment worked?
• How soon would I need to start treatment and how long would it last?
• Do I need medicine and how long would I need to take it before seeing improvement in my symptoms?
• What are the side effects of the medicine?
• Are there other medicines that could interfere with this medication?
• If I need surgery, what are the benefits and risks?
• Would I have any side effects from surgery that could affect my quality of life?
• Are these side effects temporary or permanent?
• How long is recovery time after surgery?
• Will I be able to fully return to normal?
• How will this affect my sex life?
• How often should I visit the doctor to monitor my condition?

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Special Types Of Psa Tests

The PSA level from a screening test is sometimes referred to as total PSA, because it includes the different forms of PSA . If you decide to get a PSA screening test and the result isnt normal, some doctors might consider using different types of PSA tests to help decide if you need a prostate biopsy, although not all doctors agree on how to use these tests. If your PSA test result isnt normal, ask your doctor to discuss your cancer risk and your need for further tests.

Percent-free PSA: PSA occurs in 2 major forms in the blood. One form is attached to blood proteins, while the other circulates free . The percent-free PSA is the ratio of how much PSA circulates free compared to the total PSA level. The percentage of free PSA is lower in men who have prostate cancer than in men who do not.

If your PSA test result is in the borderline range , the percent-free PSA might be used to help decide if you should have a prostate biopsy. A lower percent-free PSA means that your chance of having prostate cancer is higher and you should probably have a biopsy.

Many doctors recommend a prostate biopsy for men whose percent-free PSA is 10% or less, and advise that men consider a biopsy if it is between 10% and 25%. Using these cutoffs detects most cancers and helps some men avoid unnecessary biopsies. This test is widely used, but not all doctors agree that 25% is the best cutoff point to decide on a biopsy, and the cutoff may change depending on the overall PSA level.

High Levels Of Two Hormones In The Blood Raise Prostate Cancer Risk

Men with higher levels of âfreeâ testosterone and a growth hormone in their blood are more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer, according to research presented at the 2019 NCRI Cancer Conference.

Other factors such as older age, ethnicity and a family history of the disease are already known to increase a manâs risk of developing prostate cancer.

However, the new study of more than 200,000 men is one of the first to show strong evidence of two factors that could possibly be modified to reduce prostate cancer risk.

The research was led by Dr. Ruth Travis, an Associate Professor, and Ellie Watts, a Research Fellow, both based at the Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, UK. Dr. Travis said: âProstate cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in men worldwide after lung cancer and a leading cause of cancer death. But there is no evidence-based advice that we can give to men to reduce their risk.

âWe were interested in studying the levels of two hormones circulating in the blood because previous research suggests they could be linked with prostate cancer and because these are factors that could potentially be altered in an attempt to reduce prostate cancer risk.â

The researchers studied 200,452 men who are part of the UK Biobank project. All were free of cancer when they joined the study and were not taking any hormone therapy.

Explore further

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Inflammation In Cancer And Neutrophil Count

How neutrophils affect cancer prognosis remain unclear. Systemic inflammation is believed to be associated with cancer progression through several mechanisms, including: cancer cell development, proliferation and survival, angiogenesis, metastatic potential increase and diminished response to therapy . In metastatic prostate cancer, molecular signaling triggered by inflammatory mediators was hypothesized to promote cancer cell progression . Neutrophils are hypothesized to contribute to tumor progression and aggressive biology through the production of cytokines -1, and IL-6), chemokines and granule proteins, which are thought to promote tumor proliferation and angiogenesis, and increase its metastatic potential . On the other hand, the adverse prognosis associated with high NLR could also partly be explained by a lower lymphocyte count which can reflect a decreased anti-tumor immune response, an increased neutrophil response to the tumor and which consequently favors angiogenesis and tumor progression or both .

How Psa Results Are Used For Diagnosis

In the past, many doctors wanted men with elevated PSA and/or an abnormal digital rectal examination to undergo a prostate biopsy. Today, this is not a course of action recommended by the American Urological Association. In such cases, multiparametric prostate MRI is now recommended as the best front-line test to detector rule outprostate cancer.

If a mpMRI shows a suspicious finding, a MRI-guided biopsy is the most accurate way to perform a biopsy of the prostate. If this is not possible, an MRI can be used with an ultrasound-guided biopsy. This is referred to as a fusion biopsy, and is more accurate than an ultrasound biopsy alone.

PSA level

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What Are The Most Common Side Effects Of Jevtana

The most common side effects of JEVTANA include:

• low red blood cell count , which is common with JEVTANA, but can sometimes also be serious. Your HCP will regularly check your red blood cell count. Symptoms of anemia include shortness of breath and tiredness.
• low blood platelet count, which is common with JEVTANA, but can sometimes also be serious. Tell your HCP if you have any unusual bruising or bleeding.

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What Does A Complete Blood Count Measure

A CBC measures the amount of 3 types of cells in your blood:

• White blood cell count. A white blood cell count, also called a leukocyte count, measures the total number of white blood cells in a sample of blood. These cells protect the body from infection by attacking invading bacteria, viruses, and other foreign materials in the body. Some white blood cells can also attack cancer cells.

• White blood cell differential. A white blood cell differential measures the number of each type of white blood cell.There are 5 major types of white blood cells, andeach type plays a different role in protecting the body. Your doctor can learn valuable information about your health by measuring the levels of these cells:

• Red blood cell count. Red blood cells carry oxygen throughout your body. A red blood cell count, also called an erythrocyte count, measures the number of red blood cells in a sample of blood. There are several ways to measure red blood cells. Two of the most common are:

• Hematocrit , the percentage of your blood that is made up of red blood cells

• Hemoglobin , the amount of the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen

• Platelet count. A platelet count measures the number of platelets in a sample of blood. Platelets help to stop bleeding by forming blood clots.

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Can Cancer Cause A High White Blood Cell Count

While infections and inflammation are more often to blame for an increase in white blood cell counts, some cancers can increase your WBC count as well. This condition, called leukocytosis, can occur in some of the same cancers that cause WBCs to drop, like leukemia and lymphoma. Leukemia and lymphomas can cause out-of-control reproduction of some types of blood cells. When there are too many white blood cells, they can crowd out healthy cells and disrupt normal function and cell production.

When To Call A Professional

If you are age 50 or older, ask your doctor about the pros and cons of prostate cancer screening. Some experts believe screening with PSA tests and DREs saves lives because cancer can be detected early. Others say that screening causes more harm than good. That’s because some men will suffer side effects from treatment they may not have needed. Your doctor can help you decide whether screening makes sense for you.

If you decide to get screened, your doctor probably will do a prostate exam and check your PSA level every one to two years, starting at age 50. If prostate cancer runs in your family, or if you are African American, screening may start at age 40.

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Other Markers Of Systemic Inflammation

Many studies have looked at other markers of systemic inflammation. In fact, C-reactive protein alone , the Glasgow prognostic score constituting a combination of C-reactive protein and albumin levels , the platelet to lymphocyte ratio or the Prognostic index constituted of a combination of C-reactive protein and white cell count , were all shown to be associated with survival in cancer patients. Independent of tumor stage, the Glasgow prognostic score has comprehensively been validated to be prognostic in lung, gastro-intestinal and renal cancers . In a large cohort of 27 031 cancer patients, Proctor at al. reported that both the Glasgow score and the Prognostic index had similar prognostic value in cancer, independent of cancer type. Interestingly, their results suggested that rather than the NLR, leucocytes may be best useful addition to the Glasgow score.

What Is Transrectal Ultrasound

Transrectal ultrasound is the examination of prostate using a machine called ultrasound. We insert a finger like probe into the rectum to examine the prostate. Ultrasound creates a picture of prostate using high-frequency sound waves. These sound waves come out of the probe and are transmitted through body tissues. The sound waves then bounce off the tissue and return to the probe. These returning sound waves are called echoes and are translated and recorded into photographic images. Transrectal Ultrasonography provides excellent visualization of the prostate and abnormalities that may be present in the prostate. We can also easily guide the biopsy needle under ultrasound guidance into the prostate where cancer is suspected.

The ultrasound machines in our offices are capable of doing color doppler studies and three dimensional reconstruction of the gland. Usually there is increased blood flow within the cancerous lesion or adjacent to the lesion and color doppler helps us precisely guide the biopsy needle into the lesion for accurate biopsy.

Transrectal ultrasonography is also used to estimate the prostate volume accurately to calculate PSA density.

Transrectal ultrasonography also provides images sensitive enough to defect capsular involvement and extention of cancer into the seminal vesicles .

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Errors In Interpretation Of Test Results For Prostate Cancer Disease

Errors can occur, as for any laboratory test, by wrong procedures and mistakes in all phases of the testing process. The primary mistake a clinician can make is to conclude that prostate cancer is absent if PSA is within the reference range in patients with a life expectancy longer than 10 years. It was found that 19% of patients with prostate cancer had PSA levels less than 4 ng/mL at the time of diagnosis. Equally as important, increased PSA levels should not be interpreted as a sign of cancer if prostatitis, benign hyperplasia, iatrogenic manipulations of the gland, or other causes of its increase in serum are excluded.

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