Category: Prostate / Prostate Cancer

When men get a little extra help in understanding prostate cancer screening tests, they come away more educated and confident about their choices. However, they might also be less likely to go ahead with the tests, according to a closer look at some recent studies.More than 6,000 men took part in the studies, which looked at the effects of “decision aids” such as pamphlets, videotaped programs and Web sites that discussed the pros and cons of prostate cancer screening.

Specific scores and patterns based on prostate cancer biopsy are linked to raised risk of PSA-failure, indicating that the reading might help predict prostate cancer recurrence risk, says an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), October 3rd issue.The Gleason scoring system is used to facilitate diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancers. It grades malignant tumors (adenocarcinomas) of the prostate based on the patterns of prostatic glands.

In 2007, more than 218,000 American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and more than 27,000 men will die from the disease, according to the American Cancer Society. While it is estimated that one man in six will suffer from prostate cancer in his lifetime, only one man in 34 will die from it. The earlier the disease is diagnosed and treated, the more likely it is for patients to survive and remain disease-free.

The part of the prostate that is biopsied may matter more than the number of biopsy samples taken for accurately diagnosing prostate cancer, according to a study by researchers at SUNY Upstate Medical University. The study is published in the Oct. 3 edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

About a third of American adults take some type of multivitamin on a regular basis. In nearly every case, the goal is better health, even though there is no firm evidence to support this hope. The absence of benefit is one thing, but the presence of harm is another: A 2007 report in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute concluded that there was an increased prostate cancer risk among men using multivitamins, reports the October 2007 issue of Harvard Men’s Health Watch.

Accurate Prostate Cancer Diagnosis Depends on Biopsy LocationThe part of the prostate that is biopsied may matter more than the number of biopsy samples taken for accurately diagnosing prostate cancer.It is difficult to know whether prostate biopsies are correctly identifying prostate cancer because men with prostate biopsies do not usually undergo surgery to have their prostates removed.

Pomegranate juice: Tart, trendy, and targeted on prostate cancer cellsResearchers in California are reporting new evidence explaining pomegranate juice’s mysterious beneficial effects in fighting prostate cancer. In a study in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication, Navindra Seeram and colleagues have found that the tart, trendy beverage also uses a search-and-destroy strategy to target prostate cancer cells.

Recent investigations of medications, diet and the molecular understanding of prostate cancer are defining potential prevention strategies for the disease, and herald a new stage in the management of this cancer, according to a new review. Writing in the November 1, 2007 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, Dr. Neil Fleshner and Dr.

Breihan Bridgewater suffers from emphysema. He sleeps on his side because when he lays flat on his back it feels like there’s a boulder resting on his chest.When the 74-year-old semi-retired electronic technician was diagnosed with prostate cancer, the thought of undergoing surgery or having to lie on his back and undergo more than 40 radiation treatments left him with an uneasy feeling — and a decision to make.

Dealing with a new diagnosis of prostate cancer can be both difficult and confusing. Men often find it difficult to sort through the many treatment choices available to determine their best treatment options. The new Coleman Foundation Comprehensive Cancer Clinic at Rush University Medical Center solves the problem of a patchwork of services by offering patients one center for all their care.At other centers, men are usually seen only by a single specialist.