Prostate Cancer

Of course we should offer active surveillance to African-American men with localized prostate cancer! We simply need to do it selectively and in a smarter way-and we need to be aware of some of the potential pitfalls.

Active surveillance seems to be generally safe, yet African-American men tend to have more aggressive prostate cancers. Thus, it is imperative that we learn the characteristics and outcomes of African-American men considering surveillance.

There is strong evidence from longitudinal cohort studies of men with both treated and untreated Gleason 6 prostate cancer to suggest that Gleason 6 disease, when not associated with higher-grade cancer, virtually never demonstrates the ability to metastasize and thus represents an indolent entity that does not require treatment.

Adding a spinal or epidural painkiller to general anesthesia during prostatectomy may benefit long-term patients outcomes, according to a large retrospective study.

Men with early-stage prostate cancer who ate a low-fat diet supplemented with fish oil had lower amounts of pro-inflammation molecules in their blood and lower prostate tumor cell proliferation compared with men who ate a high-fat Western diet.

Markers of inflammation should be analyzed and reported in prostate biopsies, according to the results of a new study. Researchers found that negative prostate biopsies that had markers of inflammation were less likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer in a subsequent prostate biopsy.

Despite the promise of proton therapy, comparative evidence has yet to definitively demonstrate its clinical benefit over other forms of contemporary radiation for prostate cancer.

A new study shows that men who have a specific protein marker present in their prostate biopsy may benefit from close follow-up and additional biopsies as they may be at increased risk of developing cancer.

Men with a history of prostate cancer may be at increased risk for melanoma, according to data taken from two large cohort studies.

The results of a recently published study on the psychological impact of prostate cancer biopsies show that men who have post-biopsy symptoms have increased anxiety, even if they received a negative diagnosis.

In this podcast, we discuss whether all male colorectal cancer patients over the age of 60 should be screened for prostate cancer.

I have read multiple overviews of the current management of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). These articles have very adeptly summarized the key trials leading to a multitude of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals of new agents for men with CRPC.

With the emergence of several new agents for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer, new questions have arisen regarding the optimal sequence or combination of these agents. As we await the results of ongoing and planned clinical trials to answer some of these questions directly, the decision-making process will rely heavily on considerations of side effects and patient characteristics.

In this review we will outline an approach to sequencing new therapies for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), with particular attention paid to the biology of CRPC.

A recent study shows that men who were overweight or obese at the time of their prostate cancer diagnosis were more likely to die from their disease compared with their healthy weight counterparts.

The facts presented about screening should be tailored to the patient’s exact situation, and the patient’s values should be used to guide the final decision. For younger, healthy men, PSA screening should continue to be strongly considered.

The Task Force’s recommendation against PSA screening for prostate cancer is based on the best available science and the knowledge that, while we all want to prevent suffering and death from prostate cancer, PSA screening simply does not get us there.

Once a patient has been appropriately educated by an informed healthcare provider about the possible benefits of PSA screening, then patient preference as part of shared decision making regarding PSA screening should be considered in all cases.

It may be appropriate to offer prostate cancer screening to carefully selected men with a previous history of colorectal cancer. However, the risks and benefits of establishing the diagnosis in this setting need to be considered and discussed with them.

Not all patients with colorectal cancer are candidates for such screening, however, as a remaining life expectancy of at least 10 years is generally required in order for PSA screening to yield a significant mortality benefit.

Men aged 75 and older generally do not benefit from annual PSA screening, but a new study shows that Medicare spending on PSA screening for this population continues.

The anti-RANKL antibody denosumab is more effective for preventing bone metastasis in men with high-risk castration-resistant prostate cancer compared with low-risk disease, according to results of a new study.

Abiraterone acetate in combination with prednisone delays pain progression as well as health-related quality of life compared with prednisone alone in prostate cancer patients, a new study shows.

In a phase III trial, ipilimumab increased the overall survival of men with advanced castration-resistant prostate cancer when used with a single dose of radiotherapy by 1.2 months, but the results were not statistically significant.