If prostate cancer spreads to the spine, it can squish the spinal cord and make you lose control of your legs, bladder, or bowels.
Scientific Claim
Metastatic prostate cancer involving the vertebral column can cause spinal cord or cauda equina compression, resulting in lower extremity motor weakness, sensory loss, and loss of bladder or bowel sphincter control.
Original Statement
“If prostate cancer has spread to the bones of the spine, the vertebrae, a tumor can compress the spinal cord or the nerve roots that exit from it. And the result can be weakness or paralysis in the legs or one leg or loss of sensation and critically loss of control over the bladder or the bowel.”
Context Details
Domain
oncology
Population
human
Subject
vertebral metastases from prostate cancer
Action
compress spinal cord or nerve roots
Target
lower extremity weakness and loss of bladder/bowel control
Intervention Details
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (1)
Surgical Decompression of High-Grade Spinal Cord Compression from Hormone Refractory Metastatic Prostate Cancer
This study found that when prostate cancer spreads to the spine, it often presses on the spinal cord and causes serious problems like leg weakness and trouble controlling bladder or bowels — exactly what the claim says.