No Link Between Virus in the Prostate and Risk for Prostate Cancer

According to an article recently published in the British Journal of Cancer, there does not appear to be an association between the presence of viruses in the prostate and the risk for subsequent prostate cancer among men.

Along with skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer among males in the United States. The prostate is a walnut-sized gland that is located between the bladder and the rectum. It is responsible for forming a part of semen.

Orinigal article here

Prostate cancer risk reduced by fatty fish consumption

Men who eat just one serving of salmon per week reduce their risk of developing prostate cancer by 43 percent, compared to men who do not consume fish, according to new research published in the online edition of the International Journal of Cancer.

Researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm examined the dietary habits of nearly 1,500 men with prostate cancer and more than 1,100 men without the disease. They found that men who ate fatty fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, at least once a week reduced their risk of prostate cancer by 43 percent, whereas men who did not eat fish of any kind experienced no risk reduction.

Fatty fish consumption slashes risk of prostate cancer by 43 percent

Eating oily fish ‘may help block advance of prostate cancer’

A DIET rich in fish such as salmon and mackerel could cut the spread of prostate cancer, scientists said yesterday.

A study found that the omega 3 fats found in oily fish could hamper the ability of prostate cancer cells to move elsewhere in the body.

The scientists said that the fats appeared to combat the effect of omega 6, found in nuts and seeds, which increased the spread of cells.

Prostate cancer is at its most dangerous when tumour cells from the prostate gland migrate and invade other parts of the body, such as the bone marrow.

The latest study, published in the British Journal of Cancer, suggests that increasing omega 3 in the diet protects men from developing this more aggressive form of disease.

But experts pointed out the experiments were only carried out in the laboratory and large population studies were now needed.

The study, funded by St Andrews-based charity the Association for International Cancer Research and the Medical Research Council, focused on omega 3 and omega 6 – the two main groups of polyunsaturated fatty acids in people’s diet.

The researchers, from the Paterson Institute at the Christie Hospital in Manchester, found that the two had very different effects on cancer cells.

Chief scientist Dr Mick Brown said: “Omega 6 fats, found in vegetable oils, nuts and seeds, increased the spread of tumour cells into bone marrow.

“This invasion was blocked by omega 3 fats – the ones found in oily fish.

“It is possible to have a healthy balance of these two types of fat – we only need about half as much omega 3 as omega 6 – that will still stop cancer cells from spreading.”

Noel Clarke, a consultant urologist at the Christie Hospital, said they believed tumours may exploit the omega 6 fats as a high energy source – giving them the energy they need to maintain a high growth rate.

The Food Standards Agency recommends men can eat up to four portions, each of around 140g, of oily fish a week, with up to two for women.

Professor John Toy, Cancer Research UK’s medical director, said while diet was a factor in many types of cancer, its potential role in prostate cancer was not yet fully clear.

2006 Prostate Cancer Symposium – Session On The Treatment Of Unfavorable Risk

A session discussing “Treatment of Unfavorable Risk Prostate Cancer” took place during the at the 2006 Prostate Cancer Symposium sponsored by ASCO/ASTRO/SUO/Prostate Cancer Foundation meeting in SF February 24-26.

Dr. Montie, University of Michigan presented surgery as the best option for unfavorable risk CaP. He described a paradigm for combined RP with adjuvant systemic therapies for optimal outcomes. Thirty high-risk patients treated with RP and ERBT underwent rapid autopsies at the time of death and the majority was not found to have residual pelvic disease. For cT3 tumors, more complete eradication of the primary tumor is likely with a combination of RP and ERBT, but the side effects are significantly higher.

Dr. Mack Roach, UCSF presented ERBT as the best option for unfavorable risk CaP. He discussed a concern for the high failure rates in men treated with RP as monotherapy. For example, in a recently published series from the Mayo Clinic, men with Gleason score 7 tumors pathologically (both 3+4 or 4+3) had 10-year recurrence rates of over 45%. Dr. Roach discussed adjuvant and salvage RT following RP and discussed the role for combining RT in these settings with androgen-deprivation therapy.

Dr. Vogelzang, Nevada Cancer Institute presented a talk titled “Systemic Therapy: Standard versus Experimental: When and What?” He argued for early androgen-deprivation therapy for improving survival outcomes in high-risk patients. This is either used in combination with EBRT or as adjuvant to RP in node-positive patients. Toxicity and cost still remain issues with this approach. Trials to assess adjuvant chemotherapy will possibly change practice patterns in upcoming years. For example, based upon the improved survival in hormone refractory patients using docetaxol chemotherapy, an adjuvant trial of docetaxol is just beginning to accrue patients.

Dr. See presented a podium abstract on adding bicalutamide 150mg to radiotherapy to significantly improve overall survival in men with locally advanced CaP.

Staging Prostate Cancer Is Improved with MRI

Endorectal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and combined endorectal MRI-MR spectroscopic imaging can “contribute significant incremental value” to nomograms and other algorithms designed to stage organ-confined prostate cancer, researchers at Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York report.

In a study published in the February issue of Radiology, Dr. Peter Scardino and colleagues conducted a study of 299 patients who underwent endorectal MRI and 383 patients who underwent combined endorectal MRI-MR-spect imaging before radical prostatectomy between November 1, 1999 and November 1, 2004. Mean age was 58.

Retrospectively, the investigators assessed the risk of extracapsular extension, seminal vesicle invasion and lymph node metastasis based in imaging studies. Patients were given a score between 1 and 5 for risk of organ-confined prostate cancer.

Staging nomograms were used to calculate the likelihood of organ-confined prostate cancer based on prostate-specific antigen (OPSA), Gleason grade at biopsy and clinical stage. The reference standard was the histological findings.

MR findings “significantly increase the accuracy of identifying which cancers are ‘indolent’ and may not need immediate treatment, whether there is extension through the seminal vesicle invasion as opposed to cancer truly confined to the prostate,” Dr. Scardino told Reuters Health. The addition of imaging was greatest for intermediate- and high-risk patients, the researchers found.

Dr. Scardino noted that “MRI should be done before or at least eight weeks after a needle biopsy of the prostate, but before a treatment decision is made in a patient with presumed organ-confined prostate cancer.  Remember that ‘organ-confined’ is a clinical diagnosis, not a pathological stage.”

“The optimal use [of MRI] is for staging a man already diagnosed with cancer, to determine the probability and location of extension of cancer through the prostate and seminal vesicles,” Dr. Scardino said. “This information can help patients make the best decision about which treatment to select and can help the surgeon plan the operation to be sure all cancer is removed while the critical nerves and the sphincter are removed.”

SOURCE: Radiology 2006;238:597-603.

Prostate Cancer Spurs Rocky Mount Man To Start Special Mission

Black Men Seen As High Risk For Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is a global health problem, but the highest incidence and death rate is found in black men in eastern North Carolina. Some people hope to make a change in that statistic.

The message may be spiritual, but the Rev. Thomas Walker also helps his Rocky Mount congregation deal with the physical.

“We deal with a lot of people and we are to be concerned about the whole man,” he said.

Nine years ago, Walker learned he had prostate cancer. He wrote about his treatment and survival. The book sparked a mission to reach people with a prostate health message through television, brochures and even posters in public bathrooms.

“We’re dealing with an epidemic and we have to treat it as such,” he said.

The epidemic is rolling through eastern North Carolina, catching most victims unaware.

One of the challenges in eastern North Carolina about spreading the message of prostate health is that people are spread out. There is limited access to medical care and health education.

Walker helped Marvin Roundtree through his prostate cancer treatment and recovery. The two men helped start a prostate cancer Shepherds group to do the same for others. They shepherd men through the experience after diagnosis and urge others to catch it early when it is most treatable.

“That cancer is not such a dirty word. Go ahead and have yourself checked,” Roundtree said. “There is a possibility of you being cured. You don’t have to die from prostate cancer.”

Doctors recommend most men begin annual prostate exams by age 50. Black men should begin by age 40.

CaP Cure: The Fight Against Prostate Cancer

The next time you’re at your local Safeway store, why not donate to CaP Cure: the fight against prostate cancer.

According to their Web site, CaP Cure was founded in 1993 with an urgent mission: Identify and support prostate cancer research that will rapidly translate into treatments and cures.

Together with survivors, scientists and advocates, CaP CURE has established a system that encourages collaboration, reduces bureaucracy and speeds the process of discovery.

To learn more about CaP Cure and other ways you can help, visit the CaP Cure Web site.

Waistline Protection for the Prostate

Registered dietitian Karen Collins looks at recent studies that have suggested waist size is an effective predictor of prostate cancer.

Since prostate cancer is a common cancer faced by American men, it’s understandable that a lot of media and scientific attention should focus on nutrients and phytochemicals that might help prevent this disease.

But several recent studies suggest that many men may be overlooking a risk factor that is literally right in front of them: a bulging waistline. Moreover, several studies now suggest that being significantly overweight may promote the development of a more aggressive form of prostate cancer.

In one of the new studies that show the risk from excessive body fat, among men treated for prostate cancer, those who had gained more than about three-and-a-half pounds a year between the ages of 25 and 40 were twice as likely to have this cancer recur as men who gained less weight. According to this study, men who were obese when diagnosed with prostate cancer were more likely to have the cancer return than leaner men. The impact on recurrence was even stronger if they were obese by age 40.

Bloods tests for prostate-specific antigens (PSAs) also link obesity with prostate cancer’s return after prostate surgery in studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Even after accounting for the stage and type of prostate cancer, increasing amounts of obesity had rising PSA counts and boosted the odds that prostate cancer would return. Researchers say the evidence suggests that obesity creates a more aggressive form of prostate cancer.

Although obesity may worsen the form of prostate cancer and increase the likelihood of its return, an association between excess weight and the risk of getting prostate cancer is not firmly established. Some studies support a link, while others show none. This inconsistency may mean that some men are more vulnerable to the risk from excess weight. This inconsistency could also mean that lifestyle choices are influential, too. A man’s sedentary lifestyle; high fat intake; low consumption of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans; or excessive calories could all contribute to his prostate cancer risk.

Excess body fat that is located in and around internal organs and often indicated by more waistline fat may pose particular risks, even if a man is not obese. In a study that used CT (computed tomography) scans, also known as CAT scans, to measure body fat distribution, men with prostate cancer averaged about 50 percent more total abdominal fat than healthy men of the same age. Excess abdominal fat could produce hormone-like substances that promote the development of prostate cancer and other cancers. The elevated levels of insulin and insulin-like growth factors that often accompany excess body fat could also be involved.

Increasing protection against prostate cancer by aiming for and maintaining a healthy weight is by no means incompatible with eating more of the beneficial phytochemicals found in vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans. On the contrary, tomato, red grapefruit, garlic, onion, broccoli, cauliflower and other cruciferous vegetables can all be incorporated in a personal health plan that reduces the risk of prostate and other cancers.

For the strategy that offers as much cancer-fighting power as possible, men should include a wide variety of fruits and vegetables throughout their daily meals and snacks. Weight control is also easier when you limit foods that are extra-concentrated in calories – such as fat, sugar and alcohol – and take appropriate portions. Lastly, although we don’t know yet whether exercise directly protects men from prostate cancer, exercise should also be a part of your strategy because it’s vital to prevent the creeping weight gain that many adults experience.

Tags: Prostate, Prostate Cancer, Health

Early screenings, tests vital to diagnosing prostate cancer

We are writing about a recent article about prostate-cancer screening with both blood testing and rectal examinations. The article said blood testing and rectal examinations were not helpful for prostate-cancer diagnosis and treatment. One has to be very careful in how he or she interprets this information.

Screening always has been imperfect and will continue to be imperfect as it stands. When used in conjunction with a physical examination, historical examination and other testing, however, the blood-testing tool is quite valuable in many circumstances. Rectal examination is similarly used.

Subsequently, for anyone to state these tests are ineffective and invaluable is shortsighted. On top of that, the brief article really didn’t assess a study done on the treatments, let alone that it was one epidemiologists’ opinion and in itself, quite controversial.

At this juncture, blood testing and rectal exams still are recommended to be appropriate screening tools when the guidelines are followed. Most importantly, what they are doing is making men aware they have potential problems and should be examined on a regular basis.

If you have questions, speak with your doctor. More importantly, do not use this as an excuse not to seek regular examinations and attention. More than 30,000 men per year in the United States die from prostate cancer. The most effective way to prevent this is to be diagnosed at an earlier stage.

THOMAS A. COURY, MD
MARSHALL KAMER, MD
GLENN G. BETRUS, MD

Urology Associates of Port Huron, P.C.

Alternative therapy common in prostate cancer

About one third of prostate cancer patients in the United States use some type of complementary or alternative medicine, a large national study shows.

Continue reading Alternative therapy common in prostate cancer