Prostate cancer is one of the leading killers of men. The National Cancer Institute estimates that 186,320 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year, and 28,660 will die from it.
Although it’s one of the most common cancers suffered by men, there are ways to minimize the risk of getting it, said Dr. Ihor Sawczuk, chairman of urology and chief of urologic oncology at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey.
Thursday October 30, 2008, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) — A study sponsored by the National Cancer Institute found that supplementation of vitamin E and selenium may do more harm than good in men with regard to the risk of prostate cancer.
The Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT) showed that taking vitamin E or selenium supplements or combination of the two did not seem to reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer in men age 50.
In the December issue of European Urology Dr. Curtis Nickel and associates report on the evidence of a relationship between prostate inflammation and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in men enrolled in the REDUCE trial.
The REDUCE (Reduction by DUtasteride of prostate Cancer Events) trial is a 4-year, phase-III placebo-controlled study that evaluates whether the drug dutasteride decreases the risk of biopsy-detectable prostate cancer. Dutasteride is a 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor, a drug that inhibits the conversion of testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a hormone that may cause benign prostatic obstruction. The trial involves men with a negative prostate biopsy. The men were given either dutasteride or a placebo and followed for 4 years.
Read the rest of this entry »NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Noscapine, a natural substance found in cough medicine, may prove useful in treating advanced prostate cancer, according to studies in mice.
Researchers found that noscapine — a non-addictive derivative of opium — reduced tumor growth in mice by 60 percent and limited the spread of tumors by 65 percent without causing harmful side effects.
Dr. Israel Barken, of The Prostate Cancer Research and Education Foundation, La Mesa, California, and colleagues report their finding in the journal Anticancer Research.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Drugs used to control diabetes may lower the risk of prostate cancer, investigators at the University of Tampere in Finland report.
“Recent studies have reported a decreased prostate cancer risk for diabetic men, although the evidence is controversial,” Dr. Teemu J. Murtola and colleagues note in the American Journal of Epidemiology. “It is currently unclear whether use of antidiabetic medication affects the association between diabetes and prostate cancer.”
Cell Genesys Inc. shares dropped sharply today as the South San Francisco company said it will cut more than 200 jobs, is exploring its sale or liquidation, and stopping the late-stage trial of its prostate cancer drug.
The company (NASDAQ: CEGE) also said it was terminating the employment of Chief Medical Officer Robert Dow.
Cell Genesys shares were down 45 cents — or 73 percent — to 17 cents per share in mid-day trading.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men at higher-than-average risk of prostate cancer are more likely to seek regular screening if they are married or live with a significant other, a new study finds.
Researchers found that among more than 2,400 men ages 40 to 79, those with a family history of prostate cancer were more likely to be regularly screened for the disease over a decade. However, a closer look at the data showed that this was only true of men who lived with a wife or partner.
A large government study of whether Vitamin E and selenium protect men against prostate cancer has been suspended, federal health officials announced yesterday, after an independent analysis determined that the nutrients did not reduce the risk for the common malignancy.
The $119 million study, involving more than 35,000 men, also found hints that the nutrients might increase the risk for prostate cancer and diabetes, although officials stressed that those findings may be a coincidence.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A study of Vietnam War era veterans shows that exposure to Agent Orange is associated with more than a two-fold increased risk of prostate cancer, earlier disease onset, and prostate cancer with more aggressive features.
“Consideration should be made to classify this group of individuals as ‘high risk’, just like men of African-American heritage and men with a family history of prostate cancer,” Dr. Karim Chamie, from the University of California Davis, Sacramento, and colleagues recommend.
Cell Genesys Inc. shares dropped sharply today as the South San Francisco company said it will cut more than 200 jobs, is exploring its sale or liquidation, and stopping the late-stage trial of its prostate cancer drug.
The company (NASDAQ: CEGE) also said it was terminating the employment of Chief Medical Officer Robert Dow.
Cell Genesys shares were down 45 cents — or 73 percent — to 17 cents per share in mid-day trading.