Prostate Cancer Archive

By now most of us are familiar with Brexit, the UK’s pending divorce with the European Union. But in a play on that term, British doctors are also moving towards an exit they’ve dubbed “TRexit” from the most common sort of prostate biopsy: the transrectal ultrasound guided biopsy, or TRUS. Men who test positive on […]

Human papilloma virus (HPV) causes about 40,000 cases of cancer every year. A long-term study of the HPV vaccine finds it offers protection against many strains of the virus, yet many teens haven’t had this safe, effective vaccine.

There are several treatment options for kidney stones. Which is best for you may depend on size and number of stones and their location in the kidney. Imaging and blood tests can help your doctor determine the right course of treatment.

If you’re trying to take 10,000 steps a day, it can be discouraging to miss that well-known target. But why is 10,000 steps the goal? And is it really necessary to take that many steps every day?

Not long ago, an abnormal PSA reading would be followed right away by a standard biopsy to search for potential cancer in the prostate. During such a procedure, doctors take 10 to 12 samples of the prostate from various locations while looking at the gland with an ultrasound machine. These days, however, men with high […]

The male breast is much smaller than its female counterpart, and it cannot produce milk. Because of this smaller size and simpler structure, breast disease is much less common in men than women. Still, men can develop important breast problems, both benign and malignant. Early detection is the key to a successful outcome, so every man should understand the basic elements of male breast disease.

While Father’s Day gets less sentimental build up than Mother’s Day, it may still bring out intense emotions for many men even if they are not parents themselves.

Both married men and unmarried men of a certain age, may remember the tune, if not the words:

Love and marriage, love and marriage,
Go together like a horse and carriage.
This I tell you, brother,
You can't have one without the other.

News briefs

New findings show a dramatic increase in the number of men taking a conservative approach to low-risk prostate cancer. According to a Harvard-led study published Feb. 19, 2019, in JAMA, use of active surveillance — which involves monitoring the cancer and delaying treatment unless it progresses — almost tripled from 2010 to 2015. The data come from the records of 165,000 men with prostate cancer. Researchers found that among men with low-risk prostate cancer (slow-growing cancer that's not considered life-threatening), active surveillance jumped from 15% in 2010 to 42% in 2015, surgery fell from 47% to 31%, and radiation dropped from 38% to 27%. Other studies also have also shown increasing rates of active surveillance in low-risk cases.

Why the shift? The authors point to national guidelines that now recommend active surveillance in such cases, as well as favorable research findings. "Emerging evidence has shown that active surveillance for low-risk prostate cancer is an effective alternative to surgery or radiation, associated with similar and excellent chances at long-term survival," notes Dr. Brandon Mahal, the study's lead author and a radiation oncologist with Harvard-affiliated Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center.