Nerves found next to the prostate take part in causing an erection of the penis, and treatments that remove or damage these nerves can cause impotence, or problems with erections. How it spreads Compared with most cancers, prostate cancer tends to grow slowly. It may be decades from the time the earliest cell changes can be detected under a microscope until the cancer gets big enough to cause symptoms. When cancer grows through the prostate capsule, it invades nearby tissues. Although we don't yet know exactly what causes prostate cancer, there may be a genetic link.
Genes are the basic units of heredity.
Having certain genes can result in a higher risk of getting prostate cancer. However, heredity appears to be linked to only about 10 percent of prostate cancers. The prostate usually is healthy in younger men. As a man grows older, however, the prostate gland frequently becomes a source of trouble. Neither prostatitis nor prostate enlargement is known to cause cancer.