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King Charles III was diagnosed with cancer after undergoing a procedure for an enlarged prostate, Buckingham Palace said on Monday, but it did not say what type of cancer it was or how serious the condition is.
“During The King’s recent hospital procedure for a benign prostate enlargement, another issue of concern was noted. Subsequent diagnostic tests have identified a form of cancer,” the palace said in a statement.
It is unclear what type of cancer was detected, but the palace said Charles does not have prostate cancer.
Prostate enlargement is not related to cancer and is relatively common among older men: around 80% of men over 70 years old have it, according to Yale Medicine. Charles turned 75 in November.
Sometimes the condition can cause symptoms such as difficulty urinating, loss of bladder control, or waking up at night to urinate multiple times. In such cases, doctors often recommend transurethral resection, a procedure to remove excess prostate tissue.
“They go in and scrape off some tissue so you can urinate better, because the problem with the prostate is that it’s located right at the base of the bladder and it can block urination,” said Dr. William Oh, medical director of the Foundation. against Prostate Cancer.
Part of a transurethral resection involves inserting an endoscope (a tube with a camera on the end) through the urethra. That way, doctors can see the prostate and know where to remove the tissue.
The endoscope could detect cancer in nearby areas, such as the bladder or urethra, said Dr. Christian Pavlovich, a professor of urology and oncology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
“Sometimes you have a tumor in your bladder or something that’s not symptomatic, and you’ll just see it when you walk in there,” he said.
An endoscope could also detect bloody urine, “which could mean something is bleeding into the kidney,” said Dr. Justin Friedlander, professor of urologic oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center. That could be a sign of kidney cancer or cancer in the ureter, he said, the tube that passes urine from the kidney to the bladder.
In other cases, doctors may find cancerous tissue that originated in other parts of the body when they analyze prostate tissue that was removed during surgery.
“The prostate could be affected by cancers that don’t actually have a prosthetic origin, such as a lymphoma (one of those blood tumors) or a cancer of the urothelium, which is the lining of the urethra and bladder,” Pavlovich said.
That would indicate that the cancer has spread from other organs and is potentially more advanced, Friedlander said.
Dr. Julio Pow-Sang, chair of the genitourinary oncology program at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, said it is generally rare to find cancerous tissue during a procedure to enlarge the prostate.
He said that “90 or 95% of the time it is benign, but you can get a surprise.”
Buckingham Palace did not specify on Monday what type of procedure Charles underwent for an enlarged prostate, but previously referred to it as “corrective.”
Sometimes, instead of performing a transurethral resection, doctors destroy excess prostate tissue with lasers or intense heat, but these procedures are less common.
According to Buckingham Palace, Charles arrived in London on Monday to begin regular outpatient cancer treatments.
“His Majesty is grateful to his medical team for their expert care and prompt intervention, is entirely positive about his treatment and looks forward to returning to public duties as soon as possible,” the palace said.