Metastatic prostate cancer

Metastatic prostate cancer is when prostate cancer cells have spread outside the prostate to other parts of your body. It is also known as advanced or secondary prostate cancer. 

Your cancer may be advanced when it is first diagnosed, or it may have come back or spread some time after your first diagnosis.

Sometimes cancer treatment does not remove all the cancer cells. These cells may be tiny and can’t be picked up on scans. With time these cancer cells will grow and spread.

For some, the prostate cancer may not have given any problems or symptoms until it had grown enough to spread outside of the prostate before a first diagnosis.

Read more about why cancer comes back after treatment.

Metastatic prostate cancer can affect one or more parts of your body. The most common place for prostate cancer to spread to is your bones. Prostate cancer may also spread to other parts of the body such as your lymph nodes, lungs, liver or brain.

The metastatic cancer is made up of prostate cancer cells, even if it is found in other parts of your body. It will be treated with prostate cancer treatments.

Medical content updated from our 'Understanding metastatic prostate cancer' booklet (2021), reviewed by Emmet Jordan, Consultant Medical Oncologist, Orla Defina, Prostate/Urology Clinical Nurse Specialist and Colette Grant, Irish Cancer Society Support Line Nurse.