Prostate Health Archive

Men diagnosed with slow-growing prostate tumors that likely won’t be harmful during their lifetimes can often avoid immediate treatment. Instead, they can have their tumor monitored using a strategy called active surveillance. With this approach, doctors perform periodic checks for tumor progression and start treatment only if the cancer begins to metastasize, or spread. Active […]

Long-term hormonal therapy, which blocks the effect of testosterone on prostate tumors, was once reserved for prostate cancer that has spread. But recent research has found that it had enormous benefits for men with earlier stages of prostate cancer, slashing their risks of metastasis and death from prostate cancer. However, some questions remain — for example, exactly how long to use “long-term hormonal therapy” is still up for debate.

Hormonal therapy, also known as androgen-deprivation therapy, can be a powerful weapon in the fight against prostate cancer because it deprives malignant cells of the fuel they need to grow. Androgens — meaning the family of male sex hormones that includes testosterone — contribute to physical characteristics such as a deeper voice, thick facial hair, and increased muscle strength and bone mass. But when prostate cancer develops, testosterone also contributes to tumor growth and progression. Depending on the specific treatment used, hormonal therapy can either stop the body from making testosterone or prevent it from interacting with cancer cells.

It’s well known that defective BRCA genes can increase a woman’s chances of developing breast, ovarian, and other cancers. But these same gene changes can also increase a man’s risk of dying from prostate cancer. Now, a new study published in The New England Journal of Medicine has shown that men with prostate cancer who […]

The same BRCA mutations that increase a woman’s risk of breast and ovarian cancers can also increase a man’s risk of dying from prostate cancer. Recently, an ovarian cancer drug intended for BRCA-positive women has shown impressive results in BRCA-positive men with metastatic prostate cancer. This drug, and others like it, could provide another, much-needed treatment option for men with advanced prostate cancer.

A new study confirms that active surveillance is a safe and reasonable alternative to immediate treatment for prostate cancer. In recently published study that followed 1,300 men, the prostate cancer survival rate after 10-15 years of active surveillance, was 99%. For some men, a strong discomfort with “living with cancer” may steer them away from postponing treatment in favor of careful monitoring.

A new study confirms that active surveillance is a safe and reasonable alternative to immediate treatment for prostate cancer. In recently published study that followed 1,300 men, the prostate cancer survival rate after 10-15 years of active surveillance, was 99%. For some men, a strong discomfort with “living with cancer” may steer them away from postponing treatment in favor of careful monitoring.

Treatment decisions are complicated for men with low-risk prostate cancer that grows slowly. These cancers may never become deadly during a man’s expected lifespan. And there is no conclusive evidence showing that treatment in these cases extends survival. So cancer specialists have been leaning toward monitoring low-risk prostate cancer carefully and starting treatment only when it begins to spread. This approach was once used only in academic cancer centers, but new research suggests that this strategy is becoming more common in urology practices throughout the United States and other countries as well.

Treatment decisions are complicated for men with low-risk prostate cancer that grows slowly. These cancers may never become deadly during a man’s expected lifespan. And there is no conclusive evidence showing that treatment in these cases extends survival. So cancer specialists have been leaning toward monitoring low-risk prostate cancer carefully and starting treatment only when it begins to spread. This approach was once used only in academic cancer centers, but new research suggests that this strategy is becoming more common in urology practices throughout the United States and other countries as well.