Prostate Cancer

You’ve been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and your doctor has suggested something called “watchful waiting” rather than attempting more aggressive treatment options. Perhaps he or she referred to this approach as “active surveillance” or “expectant management,” since some doctors use all of these terms interchangeably to mean the same thing, while others say they mean…

Among the many mysteries surrounding prostate cancer has been one involving fusion genes in prostate cancer cells that has a role in promoting cancer growth, but no one has known how it works. Now researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have discovered a gene mutation in these cells and how it works to turn abnormal cell…

You’ve probably heard jokes or perhaps even told a few about getting a prostate test or getting screened forprostate cancer. But considering that one in six men in the United States will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, getting a prostate test is no laughing matter. Let’s face it: people poke fun at the prostate (pun…

Symptoms of locally advanced prostate cancer are signs that you should check with your doctor. Patients may not always experience symptoms of locally advanced prostate cancer, and many of the potential symptoms are not specific to locally advanced prostate cancer. Nevertheless, if you experience any of the following symptoms make an appointment with your doctor…

Although there has been much debate about whether men should be regularly screened for prostate cancer using the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, the fact is men have the right to know if they are at risk for the disease. The PSA test, along with a digital rectal examination (DRE), are tools that provide information men…

Analysis of short-term (30, 60, and 90 days) survival after radical prostatectomy among more than 63,000 men with prostate cancer revealed that black men are more likely to die (i.e., have an increased risk of death) at 60 days and 90 days after prostatectomy compared with white men. These findings were presented on May 21,…

Over half of patients with advanced prostate cancer ignore or underreport symptoms that their disease has spread to the bone (bone metastases or bone mets). This can create a dilemma for the physician: is it better to Not ask about symptoms if the patient doesn’t volunteer the information? Ask questions at the risk of seeming…

Results of a new study suggest a link between premature balding and prostate cancer risk. In fact, the authors reported that any type of balding at age 20 may double a man’s risk of prostate cancer. The link between balding and prostate cancer has to do with hormones: the same male hormones (androgens) involved in…

Fact or fiction: Only males get prostate cancer? Okay, that’s an easy one, but how much do you really know about prostate cancer? A better question is, how much of what you hear or read about prostate cancer is fact and how much is fiction? The following list of statements are some common ones people…

Married men who undergo prostatectomy (prostate surgery) are more likely to survive than men who never married, according to a study presented at the American Urological Association’s annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, May 20, 2011. Researchers also found that men who never married were more likely to die of any cause after prostatectomy than were…

Investigators from the University of Bristol evaluated vitamin D levels and prostate cancer risk and determined that the risk of developing the disease does not appear to depend on a man’s levels of this nutrient. The authors presented their findings in the Journal of Cancer Causes and Control. To arrive at this conclusion, Rebecca Gilbert…

A team of researchers from several institutions have discovered a new subtype of prostate cancer which they say involves mutations in the SPOP gene. The scientists suspect the mutations cause changes that are involved in the growth of prostate cancer, perhaps from the earliest stage. Over the years, scientists have made a number of discoveries…

Experts have discovered strong evidence that there is a relationship between insulin-like growth factor and prostate cancer. This finding may make it possible for men to take steps to reduce their risk of developing prostate cancer by lowering their levels of this hormone if it is elevated. What is insulin-like growth factor? Insulin-like growth factor…

When we talk about a free PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test, we’re not referring to the cost. Rather, a free PSA test is one that measures the level of unbound (free) PSA in the bloodstream. This information is helpful for physicians when they are diagnosing conditions such as prostate cancer and prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate)….

Can pesticides cause prostate cancer? The use of pesticides has been linked to prostate cancer among farmers and those with high occupational contact with the chemicals. But what about general everyday exposure to pesticides that men might face in their home environments?  A new study from the University of Southern California (USC) links men who live in…

Black men take note: researchers have uncovered a possible reason why black men of West African ancestry are more likely than white men to get a prostate cancer diagnosis and to die of the disease. Autopsies of the prostate glands of more than 1,000 black and white American men suggest that the rate of prostate…