Common biological factors implicated in benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer, conventional and phytotherapeutic approaches employed in management: A review

Introduction: Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) and Prostate cancer (PC) are diseases affecting the prostate glands of aging men.
Objective: We reviewed common biological factors in BPH and PC, conventional and phytotherapeutic approaches employed in both conditions.
Method: PubMed, Google Scholar and Web of Science databases were used to search for information using key words, “Common biological factors in BPH and PC”, “Conventional approach used in BPH and PC”, and “Medicinal plants used in BPH and PC”. All 174 articles included in this review were from 1942 to 2023, published in English language as original articles or reviews.
Result: Inflammation, hormones and apoptosis are implicated in both conditions. Conventional interventions include watchful waiting, active surveillance, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiotherapy, advanced definitive therapies and surgery. Phytotherapy including Saw palmetto believed to inhibit type 1 and 2 isoenzymes of 5α-reductase, Prunus africana which possesses anti-inflammatory activity, inhibits synthesis of prostaglandins, aromatase and 5α-reductase activity, suppresses growth factors of the prostate and cholesterol build-up, disrupts congestion of blood vessel, reduce excessive blood, decrease prostate adenoma size, and inhibit cell proliferation in the prostate gland; Urtica dioica, Epilobolium rosmarinifolium, Vitex agnus, amongst others have reportedly demonstrated potentials against BPH and PC.
Conclusion: Researchers give more attention to PC probably because it is more life threatening, even though BPH is more predominant in males than PC. Therefore, it is worthwhile to give more attention to BPH to reduce life-threatening PC.