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Schneck to host free prostrate exams

The Schneck Medical Center Foundation will again sponsor free prostate cancer screening tests on Sept. 11, 16, and Oct. 7. The screenings will be at Schneck’s Cancer Center on the medical center campus. You must have a scheduled appointment to participate in the free screening

Prostate cancer strikes one in six American men and is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men. Over 186,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be reported in the United States this year. [ read full medical news ]

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Prostate cancer prognosis worse in obese men

Prostate cancer diagnosis tends to be delayed and surgical treatment more difficult in obese men than in lean men, according to two studies published Friday.
 
The primary reason for the later diagnosis, and consequently poorer prognosis, seems to be that the PSA test used to screen for prostate cancer is “biased” against obese men, according to researchers.

The problem, they explain, may stem from obese men’s larger blood volume, which dilutes their PSA levels. High blood levels of PSA — or prostate specific antigen - can signal the presence of a prostate tumor.

Options In Prostate Cancer Surgery: Perineal Prostatectomy In The Age Of Minimally Invasive Surgery

In the age of minimally invasive surgery, laparoscopic and robotic assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy has been associated with a substantial increase in operative costs without a significant improvement in outcomes to date. As a result, there has been renewed interest in one of the original approaches to prostate cancer. In this presentation we compare the MUSC experience with perineal prostatectomy (RPP) to published results using laparoscopic and robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (LRP, RALP).Our experience with over 300 consecutive perineal prostatectomies is presented and operative technique reviewed in detail. Issues such as hospital stay, intra-operative blood loss, length of catheterization, complications, both long and short term, and outcomes will be reviewed. Selective indications for a perineal prostatectomy will be defined and discussed.

The mean operative time for RPP was less than that for LRP or RALP. Estimated blood loss was equivalent for RPP and RALP and less than that for LRP. Length of catheterization in the RPP group was longer but was based on a care map and has been modified to 7 days without problems in the last 75 pts. Length of hospital stay was equivalent for all techniques and hospital costs were significantly less for RPP vs. the alternatives.

Salvage Options For Biochemical Recurrence After Primary Therapy For Prostate Cancer

Despite excellent success rates with radical prostatectomy and radiotherapy for the treatment of prostate cancer, a significant number of patients will experience a rise in their serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) level.

A variety of salvage options in this scenario have been investigated and the choice to pursue surveillance, single therapy or combination therapy depends on clinical assessment of risk and location of tumor recurrence.

Current imaging options will be reviewed and treatment results based on image guidance will be discussed. After radical prostatectomy, for example, patients with low risk local disease may not require secondary therapy or may benefit from salvage radiotherapy. Those with higher risk disease, based on imaging, PSA kinetics and tumor pathology may require systemic androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) with or without radiotherapy. Local recurrence after radiotherapy has the options of cryotherapy, HIFU brachytherapy or salvage surgery.

Following Successful Completion of Final Clinical Trials a New Prostate Cancer Test is Ready for Commercialization

Health Discovery Corporation announced that HDC’s new gene-based molecular diagnostic test for prostate cancer has now successfully completed it’s Phase III double-blind clinical trial and is now ready for commercialization to be used by physicians on their patients at risk of having prostate cancer. The new prostate cancer test will be performed at Clarient’s Clinical Laboratory in Aliso Viejo, CA. HDC will receive 30% royalty on each test performed.

The excellent results seen in Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III double-blinded clinical trials validate the scientific accuracy and robustness of the HDC gene-based molecular diagnostic test for prostate cancer. Physicians that are diagnosing and treating prostate cancer patients will be greatly assisted by the additional information that this new prostate cancer test will add to their decision making process.

According to a head of Clarient they are very impressed with the results from these validation studies, and they applaud the development teams from both Clarient and HDC for their diligent efforts in bringing this new test through the validation phase significantly ahead of schedule. The early results from these studies confirm the belief that this powerful genomics-based test may provide physicians with useful information to ensure that men with prostate cancer get a more accurate diagnosis sooner and minimize the need for unnecessary biopsies.

Estrogen patch shows promise for prostate cancer

A preliminary research in UK suggests that a patch that delivers estrogen through the skin may prove useful in treating advanced cases of prostate cancer.

UK researchers found that estrogen patches have the potential to lower testosterone levels with a lesser risk of such side effects. Because testosterone helps fuel the growth and spread of prostate tumors the estrogen therapy substantially lowered the men’s testosterone levels.

The study conclusion is published in BJU International, August 2008. The question of whether the patch should hold a place in the prostate cancer treatment arsenal requires further study.

Researchers identify promising prostate cancer drug target

Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute report they have blocked the development of prostate tumors in cancer-prone mice by knocking out a molecular unit they described as a “powerhouse” that drives runaway cell growth.

The researchers said the growth-stimulating molecule called p110beta – part of a cellular signaling network disrupted in several common cancers – is a promising target for novel cancer therapies designed to shut it down.

In light of the new findings, there is likely to be great interest in finding drugs or other tools to block the p110beta protein in cancers.
Researchers hope that the task to be somewhat easier as they know what the inhibitor should look like because of their work on p110alpha inhibitors.

Erectile dysfunction may be a feature of normal aging in men

Erectile dysfunction may be “normal” with age, while urinary or bowel function doesn’t necessarily decline with age, according to a Dutch study.

Using data from more than 3,800 participants in the European Randomized Study on Screening for Prostate Cancer, a research team from Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam assessed whether urinary, bowel, and sexual dysfunction “and the associated bother” were part of the “normal” aging process.

According to the investigators, the proportion of men with erectile dysfunction was significantly higher among older men, with more of them reporting either that they were sexually active but having problems with erections, or sexually inactive because of erectile problems.

Acording to investigation team, sexual inactivity is not necessarily the same as erectile dysfunction. Reasons for not being sexually active can also be not having a partner or not being interested (anymore). Not everybody who is sexually inactive is in need of medication.

Although urinary function was poorer and more bothersome in older age groups, the differences between age groups were not very great.

Bowel problems were uncommon, with no significant differences among age groups, the report indicates.

So, when these problems are seen in older men who have been treated for prostate cancer, they are more likely due to the treatment rather than to age alone, the team points out.

Delay in body growth linked to prostate cancer

An Italian research team lead by Dr. Paola Muti of the Italian National Cancer Institute, Rome, concluded that boys who reach their adult body size in their early 20s may be more prone to prostate cancer later in life than their peers who achieve their adult size during adolescence

In the journal Urology, July 2008 , Dr. Muti and colleagues revealed that their study has underlined the potential effect of the ‘timing’ at exposure of sexual and (body growth) variables on the risk of prostate cancer. Italian researchers compared early body and sexual development in 64 men who developed prostate cancer and 218 similar men who did not. The age at which the subjects first started shaving was used to gauge sexual development, while the age that maximum shoe size was reached was used to assess body development. Researchers noted that adolescence is a critical period in prostate development.

The findings also showed that individuals who rated themselves as being thinner than their peers at 10 to 13 years were more prone to prostate cancer than those who rated themselves as being comparable or heavier than their peers.

Obese Men Face Twin Threat From Prostate Cancer

The standard screening test for prostate cancer may not be accurate for obese men, leaving them more vulnerable to the disease, and surgery is less likely to be effective for them, a new pair of studies found.

The study, published online Friday in the journal BJU International included nearly 3,400 men who had PSA tests. The researchers found that the risk of an aggressive cancer was doubled in obese men diagnosed because of high PSA levels. No such association was found for obese men diagnosed by a digital rectal examination, in which the physician feels for an abnormally large prostate gland.