Men's Health

Prostate cancer patients who receive brachytherapy and remain free of disease for five years or greater are unlikely to have a recurrence at 10 years, according to a study in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

Brachytherapy is the placement of radioactive sources in or just next to a tumor either permanently or temporarily, depending upon the cancer.

Higher selenium levels in the blood may worsen prostate cancer in some men who already have the disease, according to a study by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute the University of California, San Francisco.

A higher risk of more aggressive prostate cancer was seen in men with a certain genetic variant found in about 75 percent of the prostate cancer patients in the study. In those subjects, having a high level of selenium in the blood was associated with a two-fold greater risk of poorer outcomes than men with the lowest amounts of selenium.

The absence of a stromal protein called caveolin-1 appears to be a marker for advanced prostate cancer and metastasis, researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson and Harvard Medical School reported in Cell Cycle.

The VA Medical System has been in the news during the past year due to veterans being exposed to HIV and hepatitis during routine colonoscopy. Several veterans became infected due to the improper sterilization of the instruments used. The hospitals involved were located in Miami, Fla., Murfreesboro, Tenn. (where the problem was first detected), and Augusta, Ga. Now the Philadelphia VA Medical Center is the focus of a failure of oversight and problems in prostate cancer care. As many as 92 veterans received incorrect doses of radiation for their prostate cancer treatment.

According to results of a study published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, men with prostate cancer who consumed the active compounds in green tea demonstrated a significant reduction in serum markers predictive of prostate cancer progression.

A new prostate cancer risk assessment test, developed by a UCSF team, gives patients and their doctors a better way of gauging long-term risks and pinpointing high-risk cases.

According to UCSF study findings, published this week, the test proved accurate in predicting bone metastasis, prostate cancer-specific mortality and all-cause mortality when localized prostate cancer is first diagnosed. The test is known as the UCSF Cancer of the Prostate Risk Assessment, or CAPRA.

The Monongalia County Health Department would like to encourage the gentlemen in our community to do something important for themselves this Father’s Day … talk to their physician about their risks of prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer found in American men, other than skin cancer. In 2008, more than 186,000 American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer … that’s one new case every 2.5 minutes and 28,000 will die from the disease … that’s one death every 19 minutes.

Prostate Cancer Statistics

General Information

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) joins the Men’s Health Network in celebrating National Men’s Health Week June 15-21 to call attention to the importance of men’s health. Men tend to die about six years younger than women, but by having certain screening tests, taking preventive medicine if needed, and practicing healthy behaviors, men can live longer, healthier lives.

Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), have found that older men, who are otherwise healthy, benefit from aggressive treatment for unfavorable-risk prostate cancer, a finding that draws contrasts with a recent US Preventive Task Force recommendation stating that older men should not be screened for prostate cancer. These findings are published online and in an upcoming print issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology Physics.

A new analysis of data suggests that men can reduce risk of prostate cancer by focusing on fruit and vegetables consumption, reducing red meat intake, and watching calories from fat. A focus on eating fruits and vegetables also helps with prostate cancer treatment.

A review of existing data, published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, shows that consuming tomatoes, green tea, cauliflower, and vitamin E and selenium can reduce risk of prostate cancer, combined with focusing on lower consumption of high fat foods.