Archive for the ‘prostate cancer’ Category
Friday, January 20th, 2012
Recent research published in the journal Urology concluded that noise-cancelling headphones playing classical music may reduce the anxiety and pain of a prostate biopsy that is often used to diagnose prostate cancer.
Eighty eight men were randomly assigned in the study to one of three groups. One group had no headphones, a second had noise-cancelling headphones without music, and the third had the headphones and listened to Bach concertos. Blood pressure was taken on all before and after a trans-rectal biopsy, an intrusive procedure. Among study participants, the diastolic blood pressure remained elevated after the procedure compared to before for both groups with no musical intervention. However, the men who wore the headphones and listened to Bach had no increase in blood pressure and reported less pain as measured on a questionnaire. Anxiety often causes a rise in diastolic blood pressure. This procedure is simple and easy to apply for those needing a prostate biopsy.
Tags: anxiety, music, pain, prostate biopsy, research
Posted in Cancer, music, prostate cancer, research | No Comments »
Friday, November 4th, 2011
A new study reported in Cancer Prevention Research concluded that men who ate a low-fat diet with fish oil supplements from 4 to 6 weeks before having their prostate removed had slower cancer-cell growth in their prostate tissue than men who ate the typical high-fat Western diet. The cell membrane of both healthy and cancer cells in men on the low-fat diet with fish oil supplements also showed changes in that there were higher levels of omega-3-fatty acids from fish oil and lower levels omega-6-fatty acids from corn oil. Researchers also found that blood from patients using the low-fat supplemented by fish oil diet slowed the growth of prostate cancer cells in a test tube whereas blood from those on the typical diet did not. The researcher said “The findings that the low-fat, fish oil diet reduced the number of rapidly growing cells in the prostate cancer tissue is important because the rate at which the cells are dividing can be predictive of future cancer progression. The lower the rate of proliferation, the lesser the chances that the cancer will spread outside the prostate, where it is much harder to treat.”
The study included 48 men followed over 6 weeks. Men in the low-fat fish oil supplemented diet group were provided food to assure that they followed a low-fat diet supplemented with fish oil The diet provided 15 percent of the calories from fat and was supplemented with 5 grams of fish oil daily. The typical diet provides 40 percent of the calories from fat and usually has high levels of omega-6 fatty acids from corn oil and low levels of fish oil that provides omega-3 fatty acids and that have been found to reduce the incidence of heart disease and to fight inflammation that has been associated with certain types of cancer.
The researchers warn against generalizing from this study because of the small numbers and short period of study. Another study in planned that will include 100 men with prostate cancer who have elected to wait and see without any treatment but will receive biopsies and check-ups. The study will randomly divide men into two groups-the low fat fish oil supplemental diet and the typical western diet and follow them for 1 year to evaluate the effect of diet on prostate cancer cell proliferation.
Tags: fish oil, low fat diet, prostate cancer, research
Posted in Cancer, prostate cancer, research | No Comments »
Friday, July 22nd, 2011
Researchers reported in the journal Analytical Chemistry that the PSA may be used as a new test for detecting breast cancer. The prostate-specific antigen measured in the PSA test is a potential biomarker of breast cancer in women but levels in healthy women is so small that most tests will not measure them.
Thus, the researchers built a tiny fiber-optic biosensor using gold nanoparticles and PSA antibodies to detect and report PSA levels via a florescent signal. The sensitivity and specificity of the test for breast cancer are comparable to those found when using it as a biomarker for prastate cancer. It is also believed that the sensitivity and specificity compare favorably to the current screening methods for breast cancer (clinical exam and mammogram).
Tags: breast cancer, prostate cancer, PSA, screening
Posted in breast cancer, Cancer, prostate cancer, research | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 29th, 2011
Research published in the June 22/29 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that men diagnosed with prostate cancer who are smokers have a substantial increase risk of overall mortality and prostate cancer mortality and recurrence. The study included over 5,360 men diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1986 and 2006. Among this group, there were 1,630 deaths, 524 (32%) due to prostate cancer and 416 (26%) due to cardiovascular disease, and 878 biochemical recurrences. When compared with those who never smoked, data showed current smokers had an increased risk of prostate cancer death, cardiovascular disease and all causes of death, and an increase risk of biochemical recurrence. A higher number of packs smoked per year was also associated with increased risk of all types of deaths mentioned previously but not recurrence. Men who had quit smoking 10 or more years when compared with current smokers had rates similar to those who never smoked.
Tags: cardiovascular dieath risk, death risk, prostate cancer, recurrence risk, research, smoking
Posted in Cancer, prostate cancer, research | No Comments »
Friday, June 10th, 2011
Research presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago on June 4 concluded that metastatic prostate cancer patients who received a vaccine made from their own frozen immune cells lived up to 10 months longer than those who did not receive this intervention. In this exploratory study immune cells (APC8015F) are taken from prostate cancer patients before the disease progresses and frozen. Results showed that following progression, those treated with APC8015F had a median survival rate of 20 months compared to 9.8 months for those not treated with APC8015F. Further research is planned.
Tags: immune cells, prostate cancer, research, survival
Posted in Cancer, prostate cancer, research | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 1st, 2011
In a new study published in the online journal PLoS ONE the researcher reported that an Asian mushroom used for its medicinal benefits was 100% effective in suppressing prostate tumors in mice. In the study transgenic mice that developed prostate tumors were fed polysaccharopeptide (PSP) a compound extracted from the turkey tail mushroom, for 20 weeks. They reported that no tumors were found in any of the experimental mice fed PSP. However, those not given the PSP developed tumors. They concluded that” findings support that PSP may be a potent preventative agent against prostate cancer.”
Tags: mushroom, prostate cancer, PSP, research, turkey tail mushroom
Posted in Cancer, prostate cancer, research | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 27th, 2011
A study published in the April issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology-Biology-Physics concluded that acupuncture provides long-lasting relief for hot flashes, heart palpitation, and anxiety that are common side effects of hormonal therapy commonly used for prostate cancer. Hormonal therapy to reduce the level of testosterone in the body or surgery are the two most used treatments for prostate cancer. Because it is known that testosterone induces prostate cancer, reducing this hormone in treatment has been shown to keep the cancer in check by starving the cancer cells of the hormone it needs to grow and spread. However, the therapy produces hot flashes as one side effect.
In a prospective study 14 men experiencing hot flashes due to hormone therapy were evaluated. Upon enrollment they were given a hot flash score (HFS) evaluating their daily hot flashes and the mean score was 28.3. Subjects then received acupuncture twice weekly for 30 minutes for 4 weeks. After two weeks the HFS was remeasured and had dropped over a half to 10.3. Six weeks following treatment their HFS had dropped to 7.5. Further research is planned. More information is available at: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-04/asfr-arh042111.php
Tags: acupuncture, prostate cancer, research
Posted in Cancer, prostate cancer, research | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 13th, 2011
A study to be published in the May issue of the Journal of Urology concluded that a new PSA test for screening prostate cancer is more accurate and specific and substantially reduces false positives compared to the currently used PSA tests based upon a large multi-center clinical trial. The new test could lead to fewer false positives, unnecessary biopsies, and the over treatment of slow developing cancer that would never have caused suffering and death. The test will “focus on the detection of more life-threatening prostate cancers and reduce unnecessary biopsies in men 50 years of age and older.”
The study followed 900 patients from 10 sites and found the new PSA test (Pro-PSA) was especially useful for patients with a normal prostate examination whose PSA was 2 to 10 that is considered a gray zone for prostate cancer because most men with higher levels have prostate cancer and those with lower levels do not.
The Pro-PSA teast has been approved for use in Europe and is being reviewed by the FDA.More information is available at:
http://esciencenews.com/articles/2011/04/06/new.prostate.cancer.test.gives.more.accurate.diagnosis
Tags: Pro-PSA, prostate cancer, PSA, research, screening
Posted in Cancer, prostate cancer, research | No Comments »
Friday, April 8th, 2011
A new study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology concluded that many elderly men in the United States may be undergoing unnecessary PSA testing for prostate cancer. Using survey data from 2000 and 2005 Researchers found that almost 1/2 of all men in their seventies underwent PSA screening for prostate cancer in the past year, and that was almost double the rate for men in their early fifties who were more likely to benefit from screening and treatment. In addition, men age 85 and older were screened as often as men in their early fifties. However, it is know from research that prostate cancer is slow growing and men, especially in their seventies and older, will die of other causes before prostate cancer becomes a problem and requires treatment.
In the study, data collected included information on age, smoking, mass-body index, underlying medical conditions, and other factors, and the researchers calculated the estimated five year life-expectancy of each man over 4o who had received a PSA test. All subjects were divided into 5 years groups starting with 70-74, and additionally including 75-79, 80-84, and 85 and older. There were 2, 623 men in these groups (subjects) and almost 12,000 men between age 40 and 69 served as controls.
The overall PSA screening rate within the past year for men age 40 and over was 23.7% in 2000 and 26 % in 2005. The rates were lowest in the 40 to 44 age group (7.5%) and highest in the 70 to 74 age group (45.5%). At age 85 and older the rate was 24.6%. Researchers concluded that “a high rate of elderly and sometimes ill men are being inappropriately screened for prostate cancer. We are concerned these screenings may prompt cancer treatment among elderly men who ultimately have a very low likelihood of benefiting the patient and paradoxically can cause more harm than good.” “We were also surprised to find that nearly three-quarters of men in their fifties were not screened within the past year.”
More information on this study can be found at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110328161848.htm
Tags: elderly men, prostate cancer, PSA screening, research
Posted in Cancer, prostate cancer, research | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 6th, 2011
A new study published in the British Medical Journal and based upon a 20 year study concluded that screening does not significantly reduce deaths from prostate cancer and there may be potential harm and costs to men due to overdetection and overtreatment.
In this study begun in 1987, 9,026 men between the ages of 50 and 69 were randomly divided into subjects (1,494), and controls (7,532).
For the first two segments of the study screening involved digital exams only. Beginning in 1993, the PSA screening test was added to the digital rectal exam. During the fourth segment only men under age 69 at the time of the investigation were studied.
Results showed 85 cases (5.7%) of prostate cancer diagnosed in the subjects (screening group) and 292 (3.9%) in the control group. Researchers found that the tumors in the subjects were smaller and more often localized that in the control group. However, analysis did not show a significant difference in the overall survival or length of survival in the two groups. The authors believe men should be informed about potential hazards of treatment and the psychological effects of false positive test results before being screened for prostate cancer. More information is available at:
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=142558
Tags: Digital rectal exam, prostate cancer, PSA diagnostic test, research
Posted in Cancer, prostate cancer, research | No Comments »
