Prostate Cancer Treatment and Symptoms

Researchers Discover How To Halt Prostate Cancer Spread

Kathleen Blanchard RN — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 07:19:00 -0600

There is a new breakthrough in search for prostate cancer treatment. Following three years of study, University of Southern California researchers have found a way to halt the spread of prostate cancer. Suppression of the GRP78 protein, a genetic biomarker of aggressive prostate cancer, leads researchers to what they consider a "breakthrough" in cancer research. Amy Lee, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, the study's principal investigator, says, "This research has far-reaching implications in a wide range for human cancers,"

Prostate Cancer Screening Is Muddled And Confusing

Toni Brayer MD — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 20:48:57 -0600

Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in men in the United States and 1 in 6 men will receive this diagnosis in their lifetime. The Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test was approved by the FDA as a screening test for prostate cancer in 1986 and its use has increased since that time. Most male patients are aware of this prostate cancer test and ask for it at their annual exam.

Prostate Cancer Patients Don't Benefit From Selenium, Vitamin E Supplements

ruzik_tuzik — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:10:40 -0500

Initial, independent review of study data from the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT), funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and other institutes that comprise the National Institutes of Health shows that selenium and vitamin E supplements, taken either alone or together, did not prevent prostate cancer.

Doctors Test Advanced Tool For Treating Prostate Cancer

ruzik_tuzik — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:34:52 -0500

Leading radiation oncologists are using the TargetScan Touch system to deliver radioactive seed therapy in the prostate. The innovative technology is based on a motionless probe which stabilizes the prostate during procedures. With the gland stabilized, physicians use a touch-screen interface and 3-D ultrasound images to map and confirm placement of radiation.

NCI Stops Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial

hareyan — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:33:55 -0500

Last year's The Ghost of Larry Clark, published as a Behind the Mask essay, dealt with prostate cancer prevention with dietary selenium.

It argued that our original publication on the subject provided no real evidence that selenium prevented prostate cancer. This it did in the face of direct-to-consumer marketing of selenium that partly drew inspiration from our original observations. While the world argued to take selenium the essay asked: why?

Gene Found Activated In Most Prostate Cancer Cases

ruzik_tuzik — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 10:45:54 -0500

A gene has been found activated in 70% of prostate cancer tumors, the same gene that has been discovered activated in a majority of breast cancer cases, report scientists at the George Washington University Medical Center led by Dr. Patricia Berg, who discovered and cloned the gene, and Dr. Arnold Schwartz. Berg is Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry and directs a laboratory at George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, DC, and Schwartz is Professor of Pathology and practicing clinician at GWUMC.

CyberKnife System Cuts Prostate Cancer Treatment Times

ruzik_tuzik — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 07:04:59 -0500

Accuray Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARAY), a global leader in the field of radiosurgery, announced today that CyberKnife Centers of San Diego has shortened prostate cancer treatment times, while further improving the quality of treatment plans, by upgrading one of its CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery Systems with the next-generation technology. CyberKnife treatment delivery for prostate cancer, which used to take nearly two hours, now can be completed in an hour or less, and requires only five or fewer outpatient visits.

Prostate Cancer Mortality Is Higher For Overweight Men

ruzik_tuzik — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 06:11:30 -0500

Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) and colleagues found that excess bodyweight and high plasma concentrations of C-peptide (a protein that reflects the amount of insulin secretion) in men who are subsequently diagnosed with prostate cancer are reliable indicators that they are more likely to die from their disease than those with lower levels. This substudy of the Physician's Health Study is found in an article published in the November edition of The Lancet Oncology.

Scientists Develop New Prostate Cancer Cell Line

ruzik_tuzik — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 06:04:57 -0500

Researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson have established a laboratory prostate cancer cell line they believe will become a valuable research tool in both understanding and treating prostate cancer.

The new prostate cancer cell line reflects how the cancer can initially be fueled by the male hormone androgen and how the cells can then morph into hormone-resistant, aggressive tumors. The majority of existing prostate cancer cell lines does one or the other, but not both.

Dendreon (DNDN) Prostate Cancer Treatment PROVENGE Improves Survival

hareyan — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:11:11 -0500

Dendreon Corporation (Nasdaq: DNDN) announced today that it has completed the planned interim analysis of the Phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled IMPACT (IMmunotherapy for Prostate AdenoCarcinoma Treatment, also known as D9902B) clinical trial designed to assess the safety and efficacy of the investigational active cellular immunotherapy PROVENGE (sipuleucel-T) in men with metastatic androgen-independent prostate cancer.