Prostate Biopsy News and Research

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The prostate is a small gland that wraps around the urethra, at the base of the urinary bladder. It produces semen, the fluid vehicle of spermatozoa. A biopsy of the prostate is a procedure in which a small sample of prostate tissue is removed in order to examine it, usually in search for signs of malignant transformation of prostate cells.

Monitoring blood flow helps improve prostate biopsies

Using a special ultrasound technique to spot areas of blood flow in the prostate gland may substantially reduce the number of unnecessary biopsies, according to a new study by urologists and radiologists at the Jefferson Prostate Diagnostic Center and the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson in Philadelphia.

26 May 2008

Scientists cast doubt on value of screening for prostate cancer

Even though deaths from prostate cancer death have fallen in the U.S. since screening became more common, new research is suggesting that this does not justify the need for such tests.

17 Apr 2008

New study confirms that PROGENSA PCA3 can improve accuracy of prostate cancer diagnosis

New clinical data from a study of 570 men published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Urology support the use of PROGENSA PCA3 as a tool for diagnosing prostate cancer. The study confirms that PROGENSA PCA3, the world's first gene-based urine test to help detect prostate cancer, can provide clinicians with valuable information that helps guide diagnosis.

20 Mar 2008

Biopsy techniques have made PSA test less predictive

Prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels typically have correlated with prostate biopsy results in the detection of prostate cancer, but that correlation no longer exists for men with a normal prostate exam, according to a new study published in the April 15, 2008 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

11 Mar 2008

Revelation of new genes linked to prostate cancer could single out high risk men

The discovery by researchers of at least ten new genes associated with prostate cancer could in future be used to accurately identify high-risk men.

11 Feb 2008

Henry Ford Hospital expands research on gene and radiation therapy for prostate cancer

Henry Ford Hospital is embarking on an expanded major clinical trial involving the use of gene therapy in combination with radiation therapy, to determine if the combined treatment is more effective than radiation therapy alone for patients with intermediate risk prostate cancer.

7 Feb 2008

Experimental biomarker test beats PSA in detecting prostate cancer

An experimental biomarker test developed by researchers at the University of Michigan more accurately detects prostate cancer than any other screening method currently in use, according to a study published in the February 1 issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

5 Feb 2008

Should the UK lower the age for prostate cancer detection in line with the USA?

19 Nov 2007

Generic prostate drug finasteride helps find high-risk cancers early

Men now have another good reason to consider taking finasteride, a well-known generic drug that shrinks an enlarged prostate and reduces the risk of getting prostate cancer by 25 percent.

12 Sep 2007

African-American men understimate risk of prostate cancer

Many African-American men radically underestimate the likelihood that having a needle biopsy for suspected prostate cancer will result in a cancer diagnosis, according to a study from the University of Chicago Medical Center.

5 Jun 2007

Outcomes of primary cryotherapy for prostate cancer

In the February 2007 issue of Urology, Dr. Ellis from the Urology Associates of North Texas reports on a large series of patients treated with primary cryotherapy for prostate cancer (CaP).

21 Apr 2007

New way to identify which men need a second prostate biopsy

A researcher in the Oregon Health & Science University Cancer Institute and Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center has found a way to identify which men need a second prostate biopsy because they may be harboring life-threatening prostate cancer even though they were given a clean bill of health after their first biopsy.

22 Feb 2007

New diagnostic tool for prostate cancer

According to the World Health Organization there are about 250,000 new cases of prostate cancer every year but, when caught in time, the disease has a cure rate of over 90%.

19 Jul 2006

A new diagnostic tool for prostate cancer

According to the World Health Organization there are about 250,000 new cases of prostate cancer every year but, when caught in time, the disease has a cure rate of over 90%.

12 Jul 2006

Predictive model of prostate cancer risk

Combining PSA with other risk factors for prostate cancer (CaP) may result in individualized risk prediction.

13 Jun 2006

PSA test alone not an ideal predictor of prostate cancer

Recent studies suggest that testing blood for prostate specific antigen (PSA) alone does not produce an ideal predictor of prostate cancer, and emerging data suggest this is especially true for obese men.

6 Jun 2006

Epstein reviews recommendations for rebiopsy in patients with high grade pin or atypical foci in prostate biopsy

In the era before extended biopsy schemes, patients with prostate biopsy results showing high grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia were recommended for re-biopsy in 3 to 6 months.

2 May 2006

Researchers develop model to assess prostate cancer risk

Researchers have developed a model to predict prostate cancer for men who undergo a prostate biopsy. The details of the risk calculator appear in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

18 Apr 2006

Lowering the current PSA threshold for recommending a prostate biopsy may subject millions of men to unnecessary, potentially harmful medical procedures

Lowering the current prostate-specific antigen (PSA) threshold for recommending a prostate biopsy may subject millions of men to unnecessary, potentially harmful medical procedures with no evidence that it will improve prostate cancer mortality rates, according to a new study in the August 3 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

2 Aug 2005

No single PSA level ensures safety from prostate cancer risk

Ian M. Thompson Jr., M.D., professor and chair of urology at the U T Health Science Center, is looking for a better test - or set of tests - to diagnose prostate cancer and to distinguish between cancers that will kill men if left untreated and those that will not threaten health and do not need treatment.

19 Jul 2005