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To PSA or Not to PSA: A Guide for the Over Fifty Male
A discussion of the results of the May 2012, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force recommendation against routine PSA testing as a screen for prostate cancer.
PSA test distress, study urges
caution
Research has brought out that the prostate cancer tests can cause significant psychological distress to the men undergoing the screening.
New PSA Test Improves Detection of Prostate Cancer
Testing for the (-2)-isoform of proenzyme prostate specific antigen (p2PSA) is more accurate than PSA testing in differentiating prostate cancer from benign disease, according
to a report in the April 2010 issue of The Journal of Urology.
Over A Million Men Overdiagnosed for Prostate Cancer, Treated
Unnecessarily
Since the prostate antigen screening test (PSA) began being widely used about 23 years ago, doctors have lauded its ability to detect prostate cancer at a very early stage. In
fact, PSA testing has resulted in over a million additional men being diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer. The problem is, according to new research just published online
in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, most of these cases were over-diagnosed and subjected men to treatment they didn't need.
Risk of suicide and heart attacks goes up when men are
told they have prostate cancer
Imagine you are a man who has just been told you have a disease that might kill you -- prostate cancer. And the treatment may involve surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and/or
hormones that could rob you of your virility, wreck your sex life...
Can Drugs Really prevent Prostate Cancer?
If you worry about getting prostate cancer, you would have to live on another planet to be unaware of the hype surrounding the use of prescription drugs like dutasteride (Avodart)
or finasteride (Proscar) for preventing prostate cancer. This article explores the truth behind the hype.
Watchful Waiting — An Accident Waiting to Happen?
"Watchful Waiting" and "Active Surveillance" are
equivalent terms used to describe an option
sometimes offered to men with "low-grade" or
"favorable-risk" prostate cancer in lieu of more
immediate, aggressive treatment. Unfortunately,
most men are rarely advised about natural
techniques that may help reduce or slow the
growth of their prostate cancer.
Preliminary SELECT Study Results are Misleading!
by James Occhiogrosso, N.D., Nov. 3, 2008
In Oct. 2008 the National
Cancer Institute (NCI) released preliminary results from the ongoing
SELECT trial that stated that vitamin E and selenium do not protect
against prostate cancer. Study participants are being sent a letter
that explains these initial preliminary results and tells them to stop
taking their study supplements.
Natural Vitamin E, Selenium, Zinc and Prostate
Health - by James Occhiogrosso, N.D., Nov.
3, 2008
This article is a condensation of several pages
from my book about natural vitamin E, selenium
and zinc. These three substances work
synergistically to improve prostate health.
NCI's Flawed SELECT Study Attacks Vitamin E
by Byron Richards, October 30 2008
The National Cancer Institute's (NCI) SELECT
study (Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention
Trial) for prostate cancer in men was halted
this week after initial data analysis showed
that selenium and vitamin E, taken alone or
together for an average of five years, did not
prevent prostate cancer.
Preliminary SELECT Results - Press Release
National Cancer Institute, Oct. 2008
Selenium and vitamin E supplements, taken either
alone or together, did not prevent prostate
cancer. Because this is an early analysis of the
data from the study, neither of these findings
proves an increased risk from the supplements
and both may be due to chance.
Systematic Review: Comparative Effectiveness and
Harms of Treatments for Clinically Localized
Prostate Cancer, Timothy J. Wilt,
M.D., et al, Annuls of Internal medicine, March
2008, Volume 148, Issue 6, Pages 435-448
The link above is to the full text of this
study. It is hard to believe that for an illness
that effects several hundred thousand men per
year, there is so little concrete evidence to
guide treatment decisions. This study is a
technical review of the treatment strategies
from nearly 500 different studies.
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Prevalence of incidental prostate cancer in the
general population: a study of healthy organ
donors
Journal of Urology, March 2008, Vol. 179, No. 3,
pgs. 892-5
by: Yin M, Bastacky S, Chandran U, Becich MJ,
Dhir R.
This links to an
abstract which supports the next few articles.
It is a study of 340 men with no history of
prostate disease that died from various and were
organ donors. The study found approximately a
30% chance of having incidental cancer in the 60
to 69-year-old age group increasing to 46% of 70
to 81-year-old men.
Is it safe delaying decision about having
prostate cancer surgery?
Men's Health News, Friday, 8-Feb-2008
Is it safe to wait
to make a decision about having prostate cancer
surgery, or will the additional delay reduce
your chances of being cured? Reassuring
research says that men can take the time they
need to make their decisions, reports the
February 2008 issue of Harvard Men's Health
Watch.
Effects of prostate removal
Men's Health News, Monday, 4-Feb-2008
Men with prostate
cancer who have their prostate removed cite
sexual dysfunction as the most common side
effect after surgery, but urinary dysfunction
troubles these patients most, reports a
University of Florida researcher. What's more,
many aren't emotionally prepared to face these
complications.
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Prostate Cancer: Treatment or Overtreatment?
By James Occhiogrosso, N.D., Jan. 26, 2008
This article
discusses
why so many men with localized, low-risk,
prostate cancer choose aggressive treatment
instead of a watchful waiting approach.
Comparative Effectiveness and Harms of
Treatments for Clinically Localized Prostate
Cancer
Annuls of Internal Medicine, March 2008, Wilt,
T., MD, et al
Little high-quality
evidence is available to guide patients and
their families and health care providers on the
comparative effectiveness and harms of
treatments for clinically localized prostate
cancer, especially in men with PSA-detected
disease. Because the quality of evidence on
treatment effectiveness, necessity, and harm was
limited, we could not accurately assess many
clinically important outcomes. All treatments
cause adverse events (primarily urinary, bowel,
and sexual) that occur soon after therapy,
although the frequency, duration, and severity
vary among treatments.
Androgen Deprivation Therapy for Localized
Prostate Cancer and the Risk of Cardiovascular
Mortality
Journal of the Nat. Cancer Institute, Oct. 2007,
Tsai, H., et al.
The use of ADT appears to be associated with
an increased risk of death from cardiovascular
causes in patients undergoing radical
prostatectomy for localized prostate cancer.
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Prostate cancer treatment may encourage spread
of cancer cells -- Men's Health News, Oct.
2007
According to a new study by researchers in
the U.S. the popular prostate cancer treatment,
androgen deprivation therapy, may in fact
encourage the spread of cancer cells throughout
the body. The treatment 'androgen deprivation
therapy' (ADT), is not considered to be a cure
but is thought to delay the growth and spread of
tumors which are inoperable. However this new
research suggests that the therapy encourages
the production of a protein that makes the
cancer cells more likely to proliferate.
Prostate Cancer Treatments Yield Different
Quality of Life Outcomes.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Jun 07, 2007
In making decisions
about treatment, men with prostate cancer should
take into consideration the fact that surgery,
external beam radiation therapy, and
brachytherapy for early-stage prostate cancer
yield different quality of life outcomes,
according to a report in the June 1st issue of
Cancer.
Shark Cartilage Extract Has No Effect in Cancer
Medscape Medical News, Zosia Chustecka, June 6,
2007
(Chicago) — Shark
cartilage, marketed as an "alternative medicine"
for use in cancer, was shown to have no effect
in a large phase 3 study sponsored by the
National Cancer Institute (NCI). The supplement
was added to treatment with chemoradiation in
patients with non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC)
and was shown to have no effect on survival when
compared with placebo.
Red wine protects men from prostate cancer
Men's Health News Published: Wednesday,
23-May-2007
Researchers have found that men who drink an
average of four to seven glasses of red wine per
week are only 52% as likely to be diagnosed with
prostate cancer as those who do not drink red
wine, reports the June 2007 issue of Harvard
Men's Health Watch.
In addition, red wine appears particularly
protective against advanced or aggressive
cancers.
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Taking too many multivitamins may be linked to
advanced prostate cancer.
Men's Health News Published: Wednesday,
16-May-2007
While regular multivitamin use is not linked
with early or localized prostate cancer, taking
too many multivitamins may be associated with an
increased risk for advanced or fatal prostate
cancers, according to a study in the May 16
issue of the Journal of the National Cancer
Institute.
New Prostate Cancer Blood Test Shows
Promise.
Journal of Urology -Jan. 2008
Testing for a blood protein researchers are
calling early prostate cancer antigen (EPCA)-2
may overcome some of the limitations of current
practices. While screening for prostate-specific
antigen (PSA) has been the standard of care for
more than 2 decades, it is not specific for
prostate cancer, and raised concentrations have
been linked to other prostate conditions such as
benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostatitis.
Several groups have been working to identify new
biomarkers for prostate cancer, and this latest
effort, published in the April issue of Urology,
shows that EPCA-2 has potential as a new
serum-based test.
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After a cancer diagnosis: Crucial questions to
consider about chemotherapy vs. naturopathic
cancer treatments.
NaturalNews.com, Thursday, April 26, 2007 by:
Mike Adams
It is widely known
that an increasing number of consumers are
turning to alternative medicine for treatment
for diseases like cancer, depression, diabetes,
heart disease and so on. What are generally not
known are the circumstances under which many
consumers make this switch from conventional to
alternative medicine.
The top five cancer-causing foods.
NaturalNews.com, Tuesday, April 24, 2007 by: Mike
Adams
Ever wonder which
foods should be strongly avoided by those at
high risk for cancer? We can begin identifying
cancer-causing foods once we know which
ingredients in our food cause cancer. Some of
those ingredients are food additives and
chemicals used to enhance taste, while others
are used strictly for appearance or to increase
product shelf life. The key to avoiding
cancer-causing foods is knowing which
ingredients are carcinogens -- or cancer
promoters -- and then reading food labels to
permanently avoid consuming those ingredients.
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Smoking associated with worse outcomes in
patients with prostate cancer treated by radical
radiotherapy.
Men's Health News, Published: Friday,
20-Apr-2007
A history of smoking is associated with an
increased risk of metastatic disease in patients
treated with radiotherapy (XRT) for prostate
cancer (CaP), according to a report in the
online version of the BJU International.
Prostate cancer treatment decisions can be
complicated.
Men's Health News, Published: Friday,
20-Apr-2007
For many men with early-stage prostate cancer,
sorting out the treatment options can be
overwhelming. Yet they feel pressured to choose
a course of therapy quickly. The first issue of
a new quarterly bulletin about prostate disease
published by Harvard Medical School says that
the most important thing to do is to take your
time and make sure you explore all treatment
choices thoroughly.
Obesity at the time of prostate-cancer diagnosis
dramatically increases the risk of dying from
the disease.
Source: News-Medical.Net, Published: Thursday,
15-Mar-2007
Obese men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer
have more than two-and-a-half times the risk of
dying from the disease as compared to men of
normal weight at the time of diagnosis,
according to a study by researchers at Fred
Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
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For prostate cancer, doing nothing is often just
as good as seeking immediate treatment.
NaturalNews.com — March 12, 2007 by: David
Gutierrez
In many lower-risk cases of prostate cancer, men
actually may place their health at greater risk
by treating the cancer than by waiting and
monitoring it, according to many doctors. But a
new study by Dr. Daniel Barocas, chief resident
in your Rolla G. at New York Presbyterian
Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical College, suggests
that few men are comfortable with this hands-off
approach.
Comment at bottom of page
Active Surveillance Underutilized in Prostate
Cancer.
Medscape Medical News, Mar. 2, 2007, By: Zosia
Chustecka
Only about half of
the men with prostate cancer who have low-risk
disease choose to be followed with active
surveillance, or "watchful waiting," instead of
opting for immediate treatment. "Our findings
suggest that active surveillance is an
underutilized strategy for managing patients
with very low-risk prostate cancer," said lead
researcher Daniel Barocas, MD, from New York
Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Medical College
of Cornell University, in New York. "Patients
should talk to their doctors about their risk
category and whether they are appropriate
candidates for this approach."
Comment at bottom of page
With some prostate cases, wait-and-see may
be best approach, study finds.
From: USA TODAY By: Liz Szabo, February 23, 2007
ORLANDO — When faced with a diagnosis of
prostate cancer, the vast majority of men opt to
treat the disease, including those who might
benefit from a wait-and-see approach that spares
them from long-term side effects of surgery or
radiation, a small new study shows.
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