Archive for the ‘prostate cancer’ Category
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 | Comments Closed
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 | Comments Closed
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 | Comments Closed
Friday, March 4th, 2011
A study reported in the February 24 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute concluded that blood tests indicating the PSA (prostate-specific antigen) levels are rising rapidly over time are not useful in detecting aggressive prostate cancer and may lead to unnecessary biopsies.
In the study the researchers used data from over 5,500 men in their 60′s and 70′s taking part in a drug trial for prostate cancer prevention.
Those selected for this study did not receive a drug in the initial study and all agreed to have a biopsy at the end of the trial. Although researchers did find a statistical association between PSA velocity (change in PSA levels over time) and the chances of a follow-up biopsy being positive for cancer, when they factored in other things that influence the risk such as family history of the disease, older age, being black, and PSA levels and digital rectal exam there was virtually no association between PSA velosity and biopsy outcome and concluded “PSA velosity measurement is not useful.” They also said ” This study should change practice. We have previously published papers determining that PSA naturally varies from month to month and have urged men whose PSA suddenly rises to wait six months and repeat the test before agreeing to a needle biopsy. This new study in a large population of men provides even stronger evidence that using changes in PSA as a basis for recommendation for biopsy leads to many more unnecessary biopsies and does not help to find the more aggressive cancers that we want to find and treat.”
For information-This issue was previously discussed by Tanya Harter Pierce on the Holistic Health Show and more information on the PSA can be found in her book Outsmart Your Cancer: Alternative Non-Toxic Treatments That Work. 2009 edition.
More information at:
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/650257.html
Tags:prostate cancer, PSA, research
Posted in Cancer, Uncategorized, prostate cancer, research | Comments Closed
Friday, February 25th, 2011
A new study reported online in the journal Annals of Oncology concluded that men who start losing their hair at age 20 are more likely to develop prostate cancer in later life than those who do not. The researchers compared a group of 388 men being treated for prostate cancer with a control group of 281 healthy men and found those with prostate cancer were twice as likely to have started balding when they were 20 as those who were healthy. If the men started balding at age 30 or 40 there was no difference in risk compared to the control group. Also, there was no association found between early hair loss and early prostate cancer diagnose, nor the pattern of hair loss and development of cancer.
Researchers asked subjects to complete a questionaire about their prostate cancer, if appropriate, and identify by picture any baldness pattern they had at age 20, 30 and 40. The pictures showed the following stages of hair loss: 1) no balding (stage l); 2) frontal hair loss-receding hairline around the temples;3) vertex hair loss-round bald patch at the top of the head; and 4) a combination of both types stage IV). The subject’s physician was also asked for a history about any diagnosis of prostate cancer, age at diagnose, stage of the disease, and treatment. Men in the study were diagnosed with prostate between the ages of 46 and 84.
The researchers found that 37 of the prostate cancer patients (and 14 of the healthy men) had experienced some form of hair loss at the age of 20, ranging from a receding hairline to a bald patch at the top of the head, or a combination of both.They conclude, however, that it is too early to conclude that baldness and prostate cancer are linked.
More information is available at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_108858.html
Tags:male baldness, prostate cancer, research
Posted in Cancer, prostate cancer, research | Comments Closed
Friday, February 18th, 2011
A new study published in this months issue of European Urology concluded that a dog can be trained to successfully detect prostate cancer by smelling urine. In the study a Belgian shepherd was trained by operant-conditioning to sniff urine and recognize samples from those who have prostate cancer. After a 24 month training period the dog’s ability to differentiate prostate and control urine was tested. All urine was frozen and later heated to the same temperature.
Sixty six patients who had elevated prostate-specific antigens or abnormal digital rectal exams submitted urine and all underwent prostate biopsies. There were two groups consisting of 33 subjects with prostate
cancer and 33 controls who had negative biopsies. The dog was able to correctly designate the cancer samples of urine in 30 of 33 cases. Of the three misdiagnosed cases, one patient was re-biopsied and found to have prostate cancer. The sensitivity and specificity of the test was 91%. The researchers believe this could be a potentially useful screening tool for prostate cancer.
More information is available at:
http://www.europeanurology.com/article/S0302-2838(10)00944-9/abstract.
Tags:diagnosis, dog, prostate cancer, research, urine sniffing
Posted in Cancer, prostate cancer, research | Comments Closed
Wednesday, December 8th, 2010
A new study published in the British Journal of Cancer concluded that men with index fingers longer than their ring finger were at less risk of prostate cancer than the the opposite. Over 1,500 prostate cancer patients and over 3,000 healthy controls were queried over a 15 year period ((1994-2009) about the length of their fingers. The men were shown a series of pictures of different finger length patterns and asked to identify the pattern most similar to their own right hand. The men with index fingers longer than their ring finger were one-third less likely to develop prostate cancer For men under age 60 the risk dropped to 87% less likelihood of developing prostate cancer. Because the genes that affect finger length are the same as those for sex development, they believe being exposed to less testosterone before birth may predispose a lower risk for prostate cancer. They conclude that “results show that relative finger length could be used as a simple test for prostate cancer risk, particularly in men under age 60.” More information can be found at:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20024421-10391704.html
Tags:finger length, prostate cancer, research, risk
Posted in Cancer, prostate cancer, research | Comments Closed
Wednesday, November 17th, 2010
Research from Northwestern Universities Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center concluded that chemicals in soy may prevent the spread of cancer cells from the prostate to other areas of the body in a report presented at the Ninth Annual American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference.
In a randomized study of 38 men with localized prostate cancer the researchers found that genistein, a substance in soy, given once daily as a pill, one month prior to surgery had beneficial effects by "increasing the expression of genes that suppress the invasion of cancer cells and decrease the expression of genes that enhance invasion." The next step in this ongoing research is to see if soy will prevent the cancer cells from leaving the prostate and moving to other areas of the body,
According to researchers past efforts to develop a therapy to stop cancer cell movement have failed due to being ineffective or too toxic. If further research is effecive it would be a major breakthrough because soy is both natural and non-toxic. More information is available at the following site:
/>http://www.ecancermedicalscience.com/news-insider-news.asp?itemId=1342
Tags:prostate cancer, research, soy
Posted in Cancer, Uncategorized, prostate cancer, research | 2 Comments »
Friday, October 29th, 2010
Researchers at Queensland University of Technology report that the survival rate of those+ with prostate cancer may increase in the future due to a new vitamin E treatment. Because existing chemotherapy and hormone therapy treatments for prostate cancer do not kill the prostate cancer stem cells believed to cause the regrowth of prostate cancer, the researchers discovered a specific form of T3, called gamma tocotrienol (y-T3) that successfully kills prostate cancer stem cells and has the potential to inhibit the recurrence of prostate cancer. Using mice implanted with the prostate cancer cells and fed vitamin E in a 1 year study over 70% showed no cancer formations. In the remaining subjects of the experimental group tumor regrowth was considerably reduced and in the control group 100% of the subjects had tumor regrowth. Further information is available at: Queensland University of Technology (2010, October 24) Vitamin E in front line of prostate cancer fight. Science Daily Retreived October 24, 2010 from
http://www.scoencedaily.com/releases/2010/101019111718.htm
Tags:prostate cancer, research, vitamin E
Posted in Cancer, prostate cancer, research, supplements | Comments Closed
Friday, October 22nd, 2010
Research to be published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism and reported on Science Digest concluded that androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), a common prostate cancer therapy, is associated with decay of the hard outer shell and the spongy inner mesh of bones. Because prostate cancer relies on male hormones for its growth, ADT that suppresses or blocks the production or action of these hormones.is commonly used.
Researchers followed 26 men with prostate cancer who were on ADT in a 12 months prospective observational study. At different times during the study period sex steroid levels, bone turnover markers, and bone mineral densities were taken. In addition, three dimensional high resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) was used to assess bone structure changes. Results showed the decay mentioned earlier.
Tags:ADT, bone density, prostate cancer, research
Posted in Cancer, prostate cancer, research | 1 Comment »
