Development of prostate

[msmu@sympatico.ca]

My son is 12 yrs old and seems to be quickly approaching puberty. I imagine the developmental stages of the prostate from infancy to the teens, then in the senior years, are the most critical health years. Could someone provide a more medically-based timeline of milestones in prostate health? Thanks.

[Dr Jon Rees]

wow - that is a new question - not something I have ever been asked before!

in children and young adults, the prostate is very small. The prostate doesn't tend to cause problems in young men, except sometimes with a condition called prostatitis (although it is not even clear if this is always actually a prostate problem - it is sometimes more complex than that!).

As men enter their late 40's / 50's, the prostate is slowly enlarging, and at this point starts to cause some urinary symptoms - including slowing of the urinary flow - but this most commonly becomes an issue in terms of bother at a later age - 60's, 70's, 80's etc - urinary symptoms from benign prostate enlargement become more frequent as men age.

Prostate cancer is rarely a problem before the age of 50, although occasionally it can happen in younger men, especially in Afro-Caribbean men or those with a strong family history of early prostate cancer. Again, this condition becomes more common as men age, to the point that if the prostates of men in their 80s or 90s are removed, the majority will show traces of prostate cancer under a microscope - even though most of these will never cause the man a problem.

Does that answer your question?