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Urine test can predict high-risk prostate cancer

Because many prostate cancers are slow growing and never become life threatening, many men with early stage prostate cancer choose active surveillance – delaying treatment while closely monitoring to see whether the cancer progresses.

According to recent study at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center,  two urine-based biomarkers were found to correlate with indicators of aggressive disease: tumor volume (the number of biopsy samples that contain cancer) and Gleason score (predicting the aggressiveness of cancer by how it looks under a microscope).

The ultimate goal is that men on active surveillance could use a test based on these biomarkers or others to complement biopsy and PSA data to indicate or rule out the presence of an undetected aggressive cancer or future development of aggressive cancer.

External beam radiation therapy could be more toxic and expensive

Experts comparing three leading prostate cancer therapies find external beam radiation therapy to be more toxic and expensive than either surgery or a more localized form of radiation therapy known as brachytherapy.

The findings were to be presented Tuesday at a meeting in San Francisco, hosted in part by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and focused on prostate cancer.

Concern on proton therapy

A new treatment for prostate cancer called proton therapy: is rapidly growing in use - Medicare covers it

Recent research suggests proton therapy might have more side effects than traditional radiation does. A study of Medicare records found that men treated with proton beams later had one-third more bowel problems, such as bleeding and blockages, than men given conventional radiation.This is an observational study, so it is not definitive, but it is one of the largest to compare those treatments.

The sad truth about prostate cancer surgery

Experts say that there are some men who claim no complications following radical surgery/robotics for their prostate cancer. However, in addition to shortening of the penis and a high rate of residual cancer in men after radical surgery/robotics, many men are often too embarrassed to admit to post operative urinary leakage and issues of a sexual nature. These quality of life issues clearly underscore the fact that surgery/robotics is no panacea for prostate cancer treatment. Surgeons as well as marketers continue to promote robotic technology for radical prostatectomy by a creative spin, using such terms as “advanced”,  “minimally invasive”, and “superior outcomes.”  The sad truth is that prostate cancer surgery is solely responsible for the worldwide increase in urinary incontinence and impotence but without the benefit of curative life extension.

Preoperative MRI may reduce nerve damage in prostate cancer surgery

A new study suggests that Preoperative MRI may help surgeons make better decisions about procedures that may cause nerve damage in men with prostate cancer.

Acording to research team, there is a learning curve for prostate MRI. What researchers have found is that one has to select patients where there is likely to be a benefit from the imaging

The walnuts are back in vogue

A new paper in the British Journal of Nutrition suggests that walnuts may help to prevent prostate cancer risk

A high-fat containing whole walnuts (Juglans regia) reduces tumour size and growth along with plasma insulin-like growth factor 1 in the transgenic adenocarcinoma of the mouse prostate model.” A high-fat diet is not generally considered to be a good idea for humans at all, and there have been considerable data to suggest that a high-fat diet is specifically associated with an increase in risk for prostate cancer (although these were not fats derived from walnuts).

Brachytherapy reduced death rates in high-risk prostate cancer patients

A new study from radiation oncologists at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson suggests that brachytherapy for high-risk prostate cancers patients is very effective modality.

A population-based analysis looking at almost 13,000 cases revealed that men who received brachytherapy alone or in combination with external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) had significantly reduced mortality rates.

Men’s hopes for robot prostate surgery unrealistic

Robot-assisted surgery for prostate cancer has been heavily hyped, and a new study suggests that men’s expectations of the surgery may be too high.Researchers found that of 171 men facing prostate cancer surgery, those having robotic surgery expected a shorter hospital stay, and a quicker return to their usual physical activity and sex life.

But those hopes may not be realistic.

Preoperative MRI may reduce risk of nerve damage in prostate cancer surgeries

According to a new study at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, preoperative MRI helps surgeons make more informed decisions about nerve-sparing procedures in men with prostate cancer.

For the approach to become more commonplace two things are needed: a better way to stratify which patients would benefit from preoperative MRI, and a more standardized means of acquiring and interpreting prostate MRI results.

Stusy is published online in the journal Radiology.

Prostate cancer study proves the drug dutasteride delays disease progression

Good news coming from University Health Network for men diagnosed with low-risk, localized prostate cancer. Results of a three-year international clinical trial show that being treated with the drug dutasteride (”Avodart”) delays disease progression and initiating active treatment, and also reduces anxiety.

Researchers say that trial results prove that using active surveillance plus dutasteride is a viable, safe and effective treatment option for men who often undergo aggressive local treatment despite low risk of dying from the disease. Best news is patients can avoid aggressive treatments that can have a major impact on their quality of life, with risks of impotence and incontinence

The findings are published online today in The Lancet.