All Prostate conditions Articles

A new study suggests that men may be able to lower their risk of getting the most aggressive form of prostate cancer by keeping their cholesterol in a healthy range. Men whose cholesterol was under 200 had less than half the risk of developing high-grade prostate tumors compared to men with high cholesterol, researchers report. The information comes from about 6,000 men who were in a big Read more...

CHICAGO -- A new study suggests less-invasive keyhole surgery for prostate cancer may mean a higher risk for lasting incontinence and impotence when compared with traditional surgery. Laparoscopic, or keyhole, surgery is increasingly chosen by men having a cancerous prostate removed. And often it involves the highly marketed da Vinci robotics system. Da Vinci's popularity has been rising even Read more...

LONDON -- A common treatment for prostate cancer may slightly increase patients' risk of heart problems, new research says. Experts said the findings could make doctors think twice before prescribing the standard hormone treatment to men with prostate cancer, particularly if they are at risk of heart disease. The research was announced Tuesday at a joint meeting of the European Cancer Read more...

U.S. researchers suggest ethnicity may account for why body weight affects prostate cancer risk in some men but not others. The study, published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, found several links, including excessive weight gain between younger and older adulthood, associated with increased risk of advanced and high-grade prostate cancers in white men. However, being Read more...

For older men with low-grade prostate cancer, the best treatment option might be to hold off on surgery or radiation and watch for any progression of the disease, says a new study co-authored by a University of Connecticut Health Center urologist. Because modern screening methods are catching the disease so early, many men 65 and older are living 10 years or longer without showing symptoms of Read more...

A retrovirus known to cause leukemia and cancerous tumors in animals has for the first time been found in malignant prostate cells -- raising the intriguing question of its role in prostate cancer. The retrovirus -- called Xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus, or XMRV -- was found in 27 percent of prostate cancers, compared to 6 percent of benign tissues examined by University of Read more...

Hormone therapy for prostate cancer patients with congestive heart failure or heart attack is linked to increased death risk, U.S. researchers said. Hormonal therapy is used as a means for prostate gland cytoreduction -- prostate shrinkage. Dr. Akash Nanda of Brigham & Women's Hospital Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and colleagues assessed 5,077 men with localized or locally Read more...

QUESTION: My father and brother both died of prostate cancer. I want to do everything I can now to avoid prostate cancer. Can you give me more information? ANSWER: Prostate cancer is the third most common cause of death from cancer in men of all ages, and most common cause of death from cancer in men over 75. I've researched and prepared this list to help you and other proactive men. Read more...

U.S. scientists say they have developed a prostate cancer "homing device" that could improve detection and allow the first targeted treatment of the disease. Purdue University researchers said they synthesized a molecule that finds and penetrates prostate cancer cells, and have created imaging agents and therapeutic drugs that can link to the molecule and be carried with it as Read more...

QUESTION: I am 58 years old and recently went to my doctor because of some difficulty passing urine. He feels that I might have an enlarged prostate and has referred me to a urologist. What is likely to happen when I go for my clinic appointment? What does an enlargement of the prostate mean and what medical treatments are available to treat this condition? ANSWER: The prostate gland Read more...

A drug already sold for other prostate problems significantly cut the chances of prostate cancer being found in men with an increased risk of the disease, doctors reported yesterday. In a large international study, dutasteride, sold as Avodart, lowered the chances of a prostate cancer diagnosis by 23 percent after four years of use. Tens of thousands of men each year face a problem like those Read more...

CHICAGO -- An experimental treatment added four months to the lives of men with advanced prostate cancer in a study that tested an entirely new approach to fighting the disease, doctors have reported. Dendreon Corp.'s Provenge vaccine trains the immune system to fight tumors. It's called a "vaccine" even though it treats disease rather than prevents it. Doctors have been trying Read more...

An influential doctors group is backing off its call for annual tests after age 50 to screen for prostate cancer. "Many men do not need yearly screening," but each man's risk should be individually assessed, said Dr. Peter Carroll, who led the panel that wrote the American Urological Association's new guidelines. They are being issued Monday at the group's annual meeting in Chicago. Read more...

WASHINGTON -- Prostate cancer has been left behind in the race for personalized medicine but that may be changing: Doctors are starting to attempt gene-guided treatment for men with advanced disease. It's an approach already offered in treating breast and certain other cancers. The new prostate work is a small initial step at catching up. And it targets the men in most dire need -- those Read more...

NEW YORK --  Screening for prostate cancer doesn't necessarily save lives, and any benefits can come at a high price, according to two, big long-awaited studies. The findings are unlikely to end the debate over the usefulness of routine testing. The two studies --  one in Europe and one in the United States --  reached different conclusions. In the U.S., where screening is widely used, Read more...

We've always known that folic acid is good for women. But what about men? A study led by researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) found that men who took a daily folic acid supplement of 1 mg daily had more than twice the risk of prostate cancer compared with men who took a placebo. The finding came from a secondary analysis of the Aspirin/Folate Polyp Prevention Study Read more...

SAN DIEGO -- The so-called "male lumpectomy" -- a minimally invasive interventional radiology treatment for prostate cancer -- is as effective as surgery in destroying diseased tumors and can be considered a first-line treatment for patients of all risk levels and particularly those who have failed radiation, according to studies released at the Society of Interventional Radiology's Read more...

For the first time, leading medical groups are advising millions of healthy men who are regularly screened for prostate cancer to consider taking a drug to prevent the disease. The advice stops short of saying men should take the drug finasteride, sold in generic form and as Proscar. It is already widely used for urinary problems from enlarged prostates as men age. However, it has not Read more...

Men who are exposed to artificial light at night have a higher risk of developing prostate cancer, according to new research by University of Haifa scientists just published in the journal Chronobiology International. The findings join previous research that has found nightly exposure to artificial light increases the risk among women of breast cancer and of nearsightedness in children. Read more...

WASHINGTON -- Federal regulators have approved the first new drug to treat prostate cancer in four years. The injectable treatment from privately held Ferring Pharmaceuticals fights the cancer by lowering levels of testosterone, which promotes the growth of tumors in the prostate. Food and Drug Administration officials said older drugs in the same class can actually increase testosterone Read more...