Prostate News and Research

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Blocking Skp2 protein might inhibit glycolysis and treat breast cancer

HER2 and its epidermal growth factor receptor cousins mobilize a specialized protein to activate a major player in cancer development and sugar metabolism, scientists report in the May 25 issue of Cell.

28 May 2012

Viewpoints: Bill could make universal health care possible via states; The need to change how physicians are paid

Universal coverage, Medicare for all, single payer -- call it what you will. It's clear that conservative forces are determined to prevent such a system from ever being introduced at the national level. So it's up to the states.

25 May 2012

DiagnoCure’s PCA3 prostate cancer diagnostic test showcased at AUA meeting

DiagnoCure Inc., a Quebec life sciences company that develops and commercializes high-value cancer diagnostic tests, reported that the PROGENSA PCA3 prostate cancer diagnostic test has been featured in a number of presentations and discussions at the American Urological Association (AUA) meeting in Atlanta, GA.

25 May 2012

Thioridazine drug successfully kills human cancer stem cells

A team of scientists at McMaster University has discovered a drug, thioridazine, successfully kills cancer stem cells in the human while avoiding the toxic side-effects of conventional cancer treatments.

25 May 2012

Doctors disagree on new prostate cancer screening guidelines

One doctor suggests the problem is the rush to treatment, not the screening; another suggests that a failure to screen men could be more costly in the long run.

25 May 2012

PSA test benefits are questionable, yet physicians struggle to stop them

Recent recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) advising elimination of routine prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening for prostate cancer in healthy men are likely to encounter serious pushback from primary care physicians, according to results of a survey by Johns Hopkins investigators.

24 May 2012

CMS sticks with Medicare coverage of PSA test

The federal government is not changing coverage plans "at this time." Meanwhile, a number of urologists and other medical specialists raise concerns that new recommendations against prostate cancer screening will hurt men's health.

24 May 2012

RARP more costly than RRP in treating prostate cancer

In one of the most comprehensive analyses to date of the cost of robotic-assisted, laparoscopic surgery for prostate cancer, researchers at UPMC found that this now-dominant surgical approach is significantly more costly than standard open surgery, despite little scientific evidence of long-term improved patient outcomes.

24 May 2012

Viewpoints: The promise and perils of prostate screening; Presidential candidates shy away from frank discussion of spending

After an exhaustive process, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has announced its final recommendation on PSA-based prostate cancer screening. It finds that the known harms of screening outweigh the potential benefits for men who have no cancer symptoms. It notes that all screening studies have demonstrated considerable harms associated with screening, but only one major study found evidence that screening saves lives -- and that study has some internal inconsistencies.

24 May 2012

Study shows how chromosomal mutation likely contributes to early development of prostate cancer

Up to half of all prostate cancer cells have a chromosomal rearrangement that results in a new "fusion" gene and formation of its unique protein -- but no one has known how that alteration promotes cancer growth. Now, Weill Cornell Medical College researchers have found that in these cancer cells, the 3-D architecture of DNA, wrapped up in a little ball known as a chromatin, is warped in such a way that a switch has been thrown on thousands of genes, turning them on or off to promote abnormal, unchecked growth. Researchers also found that new chromosomal translocations form, further destabilizing the genome.

23 May 2012

Federal task force recommends dropping routine prostate cancer test

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force finds scant evidence that the PSA blood test saves lives and instead says unneeded treatment leads to serious problems, including impotence and incontinence.

23 May 2012

Article examines reasons why people are so reluctant to give up PSA test

The uproar that began last year when the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force stated that doctors should no longer offer regular prostate-cancer tests to healthy men continued this week when the task force released their final report. Overall, they stuck to their guns, stating that a blood test commonly used to screen for prostate cancer, the PSA test, causes more harm than good - it leads men to receive unnecessary, and sometimes even dangerous, treatments.

23 May 2012

MDxHealth announces availability of ConfirmMDx for Prostate Cancer test

MDxHealth SA, a leading molecular diagnostic company that develops and commercializes epigenetic tests to support cancer treatment, today announced it has presented data demonstrating that its epigenetic ConfirmMDx for Prostate Cancer test can aid urologists in identifying patients who may avoid a repeat prostate biopsy.

23 May 2012

MCP enhances anti-cancer effects of two poly-botanical formulas

In a groundbreaking study, Modified Citrus Pectin (MCP), a highly researched natural compound enhanced the anti-cancer effects of two poly-botanical formulas.

23 May 2012

Flexible sigmoidoscopy reduces deaths due to colorectal cancer

Research conducted at the University of Alabama at Birmingham as part of a national study reveals that flexible sigmoidoscopy — a screening test for colorectal cancer that is less invasive and has fewer side-effects than colonoscopy — reduces deaths due to colorectal cancer.

23 May 2012

First Edition: May 22, 2012

Today's headlines include reports about a lawsuit brought by Catholic organizations against the Obama administration's contraception coverage rule and a new recommendation on PSA screening by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

22 May 2012

LUGPA discredits recommendations by USPSTF to stop prostate cancer testing

The Large Urology Group Practice Association (LUGPA), representing more than 1,800 urologists, today discredited recommendations by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) to stop prostate cancer testing.

22 May 2012

USPSTF issues final recommendation statement against PSA testing

The Prostate Cancer Roundtable expressed deep disappointment today as the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) issued its final recommendation statement against the use of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing in the detection of prostate cancer.

22 May 2012

Intermountain signs collaborative research agreement with Myriad

Intermountain Healthcare and Myriad Genetics today announced they have signed a collaborative research agreement. The purpose of this agreement is to perform research and validation studies on transformative molecular diagnostic tests being developed by Myriad in an effort to improve the care and treatments for patients at Intermountain and around the world.

22 May 2012

Liposuction surgery reduces risk of ultraviolet-light induced skin cancer

Is it possible that liposuction or other fat removal procedures are beneficial for treating obesity and reducing the risk of cancer? When it comes to humans, scientists can't answer that question. They know that obesity increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer. But there have not been clinical studies to determine if the surgical removal of fat tissue would decrease cancer risk in humans.

22 May 2012