Is an enlarged prostate a sign of cancer?

This is a question that is asked regularly.

The term ‘enlarged prostate’ is usually applied to what doctors would call Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy (BPH). It is not a sign of cancer, nor does it pre-dispose one to prostate cancer.

The two conditions are quite separate, although they may give similar symptoms. This is the reason we ask all men who think they have symptoms of an enlarged prostate to have this confirmed by their doctors, in case prostate cancer is missed.