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7350663 
Book/Book Chapter 
Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: Causes, Diagnosis and Treatments 
Das, K; Siow, WYun 
2010 
Horizons in Cancer Research 
41 
103-136 
WOS:000279832300003 
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), appropriately termed as the disease of aging men is characterized by overgrowth of the epithelial and stromal cells in the transition zone of the prostate. The non-malignant cell growth occurring exclusively in the transition zone is intriguing and a better understanding of the molecular factors underlying the transition and other zones might give a clearer understanding of the disease pathogenesis. The etiology of BPH is attributable to risk factors such as hormonal, genetic and growth factors in addition to co-morbidity, lifestyle, diet and exercise. Initial diagnosis of clinical BPH encompasses a detailed medical history of the patient, urinary symptoms assessment by the International Prostatic Symptom Score (I-PSS), digital rectal examination (DRE) and measurement of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) plasma levels. The histological diagnosis of BPH on the other hand, is detected by the presence of non- malignant proliferation of prostate cells and is usually asymptomatic. A cheaper non-invasive alternative to diagnose pathological BPH is currently lacking. Furthermore, the ability to predict diasease progression is also inadequate. Recent efforts by the Medical therapy of prostatic symptoms Prostatic Samples Analysis (MPSA) consortium in the biomarker discovery for BPH is expected to provide better diagnostic strategies for predicting disease progression and response to drug modalities. New advances in BPH treatment by a variety of minimally invasive surgical, pharmacological, phytotherapeutical and combined therapeutic strategies have significantly improved disease management and patient care. Recent findings have also shown a decrease in the number of surgical interventions probably due to the long term effectiveness and a reasonable cost-benefit ratio of pharmacological therapy. Our review will address new insights into the causes, diagnosis and therapeutic interventions based on novel mechanisms that have potential impact on the patient.