What is the difference between prostate hyperplasia and hypertrophy?

As people become more health conscious, more and more people pay more attention to the maintenance of their health. For example, many companies organize annual physical examinations for their employees. Some people's examination reports show prostate hyperplasia, while others show prostate enlargement. This makes colleagues who don't know the situation confused about the specific effects of prostate hyperplasia and hypertrophy on the body. So, what is the difference between them?

How to differentiate between prostate enlargement and prostate hyperplasia?

Hypertrophy refers to the increase in the volume of cells, tissues or organs. Hypertrophy can be divided into two categories: compensatory hypertrophy and endocrine gland hypertrophy. Cell hypertrophy usually has functional compensatory significance. For example: cardiac hypertrophy, prostate hypertrophy, cervical hypertrophy, anal papilla hypertrophy. Generally speaking, hypertrophy is not a disease and will not cause significant effects on the body.

Hyperplasia refers to the proliferation of cells, which sometimes leads to an increase in the volume of tissues and organs. Hyperplasia can be divided into physiological and pathological types. Hyperplasia is essentially an increase in cells and is a benign disease, such as breast hyperplasia, prostate hyperplasia, scar hyperplasia, etc.

Prostatic hyperplasia was called prostatic hypertrophy in the old days. With the advancement of medicine, it was found that the description of prostatic hypertrophy was not completely accurate, so it is now called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). During a physical examination, if the prostate is found to be slightly larger or mild prostatic hyperplasia, and the examinee is not very old, the doctor will define it as prostatic hyperplasia or prostatic enlargement; if the prostate volume increases significantly, especially if the middle lobe of the prostate protrudes into the bladder, and the examinee is older, it will be defined as prostatic hyperplasia. Because the former only requires regular monitoring, while the latter may require drug treatment. It can also be understood as different names for the same disease at different stages.

Can prostate hyperplasia become cancerous?

Prostate cancer is a malignant tumor that occurs in the prostate epithelium, with acinar adenocarcinoma being the most common. Its cell growth is malignant and invasive, and it mainly occurs in the peripheral zone of the prostate. Benign prostatic hyperplasia only refers to an increase in cell division and number, which is a benign proliferation and is mainly found in the central zone of the prostate. Due to their different tissue origins and different cell growth patterns, benign prostatic hyperplasia will not develop into prostate cancer.

But what they have in common is that they all lead to an increase in the size of the prostate. Due to the presence of the prostate capsule, the enlarged prostate will press the urethra inward, causing bladder outlet obstruction and lower urinary tract symptoms, such as frequent urination, urgency, thin urination, waiting to urinate, dribbling at the end of urine, and incomplete urination. In other words, the early symptoms of prostate hyperplasia and prostate cancer are the same, only when prostate cancer invades the capsule will pelvic pain symptoms appear. Therefore, many prostate cancer patients think they have prostate hyperplasia and delay the best treatment time. Most prostate cancer patients are discovered during the process of prostate hyperplasia examination.

Prostate enlargement, prostate hyperplasia and prostate cancer are all accompanied by symptoms such as urinary discomfort. Especially for middle-aged and elderly men, it is recommended to have a prostate physical examination every 1-2 years, including rectal examination, PSA (prostate-specific antigen), transrectal ultrasound, etc., in order to detect prostate cancer at an early stage.