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In a move that could lead to significant changes in medical care for older men, a national task force on Monday recommended that doctors stop screening men ages 75 and older for prostate cancer because the search for the disease in this group was causing more harm than good. The guidelines, issued by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, represent an abrupt policy change by an influential panel that had withheld any advice regarding screening for prostate cancer, citing a lack of reliable evidence. Though the task force still has not taken a stand on the value of screening in...

Drug for deadly prostate cancer Aggressive prostate cancer has a poor prognosis Scientists are hailing a new drug to treat aggressive prostate cancer as potentially the most significant advance in the field for 70 years. Abiraterone could potentially treat up to 80% of patients with a deadly form of the disease resistant to currently available chemotherapy, they say. The drug works by blocking the hormones which fuel the cancer. The Institute of Cancer Research hopes a simple pill form will be available in two to three years. We believe we have made a major step forward in the treatment...

Scientists have used a common cold virus to "light up" prostate cancer tumours in different parts of the body. It could make it easier for doctors to track the spread of the disease, and check the effectiveness of treatment. A University of California at Los Angeles team found the virus "infected" prostate cancer cells in mice, then made them visible to scanners.

LONDON (Reuters) - Just a few more portions of broccoli each week may protect men from prostate cancer, British researchers reported on Wednesday. ADVERTISEMENT The researchers believe a chemical in the food sparks hundreds of genetic changes, activating some genes that fight cancer and switching off others that fuel tumors, said Richard Mithen, a biologist at Britain's Institute of Food Research.

For the first time, leading prostate cancer specialists say, they have a drug that can significantly cut men’s risk of developing the disease, dropping the incidence by 30 percent. But the discovery, arising from a new analysis of a large federal study, comes with a debate: Should men take the drug? Prostate cancer is unlike any other because it is relatively slow-growing and while it can kill, it often is not lethal. In fact, most leading specialists say, a major problem is that men are getting screened, discovering they have cancers that may or may not be dangerous, and opting...

PORTLAND, Ore. – In a multi-site study, Oregon Health & Science University Cancer Institute researchers have found that a drug called Ipilimumab, also known as MDX-010, works to stimulate the body's own immune system to fight prostate cancer. The drug was found to be effective in study participants with a serious type of prostate cancer – one where the tumor has spread and was resistant to hormonal treatment and, in some cases, also to chemotherapy. Darryl Pape was one of 19 participants in the Oregon Health & Science University Cancer Institute trial. "I was in such bad shape. I couldn't...

Prostate Cancer Can Be Halted With Anti-inflammatory And Statin Used In Tandem, Study Suggests ScienceDaily (Apr. 14, 2008) — Researchers at Rutgers' Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy have shown that administering a combination of the widely used drugs Celebrex (celecoxib, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug) and Lipitor (atorvastatin, a cholesterol lowering drug) stops the transition of early prostate cancer to its more aggressive and potentially fatal stage. Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men in the United States, with more than a quarter-million new cases appearing each year, according to the American Cancer Society. The findings...

NEW YORK – Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani says God is a very important part of his life. "I believe in God. I pray to God, and I pray to Jesus for guidance, help,” Giuliani said in an interview with Christian Broadcasting Network. “I have very, very strong views on religion that come about from having wanted to be a priest when I was younger, having studied theology for four years in college.” The former New York mayor said he feels God’s help when “in crisis and under pressure like Sept. 11, when I was dealing with prostate cancer, or...

Eating more cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower is associated with a reduced risk of aggressive prostate cancer. Several studies have demonstrated an association between eating vegetables and a reduced risk of prostate cancer, but study results have not been consistent and many have not investigated the association among patients with aggressive prostate cancer. Victoria Kirsh, Ph.D., of Cancer Care Ontario in Toronto and colleagues evaluated the possible association in 1,338 prostate cancer patients diagnosed in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial. Each of the men completed a 137-item food-frequency questionnaire. They found that eating fruits and...

Turning Stem Cells Taken From Fat Tissue Into Personalized, Cancer-targeted Therapeutics Researchers in Slovakia have been able to derive mesenchymal stem cells from human adipose, or fat, tissue and engineer them into "suicide genes" that seek out and destroy tumors like tiny homing missiles. This gene therapy approach is a novel way to attack small tumor metastases that evade current detection techniques and treatments, the researchers conclude in the July 1 issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. "These fat-derived stem cells could be exploited for personalized cell-based therapeutics," said the study's lead investigator,...

The most common category of cancer may not be what you think it is. It's not breast cancer -- that's number three. And lung cancer is number two. With 218,000 new cases expected in 2007, number one is prostate cancer. This cancer is not just striking retired men. "The fact is prostate cancer happens most commonly to men in their 40s, 50s, and 60s. In other words, it occurs while men are at work." Surgeon Arnon Krongrad says those busy men often overlook the importance of getting tested. That means getting what's known as a PSA test. It measures blood...

Public release date: 15-May-2007 Contact: Liz Savage jncimedia@oxfordjournals.org 301-841-1287 Journal of the National Cancer Institute Heavy multivitamin use may be linked to advanced prostate cancer The embargo has been lifted at the request of the submitting PIO. 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. Millions of Americans take multivitamins because of a belief in their potential health benefits, even though...

The skin’s ability to replace the tissue it sloughs off is controlled by a variety of genes. A new study from Harvard Medical School published in the May 4 issue of Cell, however, identifies a “master regulator” of this regeneration process not only for skin, but for many epithelial tissues including breast, prostate, and urogenital tract. The skin’s ability to replace the tissue it sloughs off is controlled by a variety of genes. A new study from Harvard Medical School published in the May 4 issue of Cell, however, identifies a “master regulator” of this regeneration process not only for...

American Prostate Cancer Initiative is a Division of American Prostate Initiative, Inc. a 501(c)(3) not for profit corporation registered in NY.  Federal ID # 75-3193832

(WebMD) An experimental blood test for prostate cancer seems to work better than the current PSA test — and can tell whether the cancer is spreading. The new test looks for a protein called EPCA-2, early prostate cancer antigen 2. Unlike the PSA (prostate-specific antigen) protein on which the current PSA test is based, this protein isn't found in normal prostate cells. Instead, EPCA-2 occurs in relatively large amounts only in prostate cancer cells. The test is being developed by Robert H. Getzenberg, Ph.D., director of urology research at Johns Hopkins University's Brady Urological Institute. Getzenberg began the work while...

Contact: Jennifer Chan chanj@usc.edu 323-442-2830 University of Southern California A study led by researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) and Harvard Medical School has identified seven genetic risk factors—DNA sequences carried by some people but not others—that predict risk for prostate cancer. According to the study's findings, these risk factors are clustered in a single region of the human genome on chromosome 8 and powerfully predict a man's probability of developing prostate cancer. The paper will be published in the online edition of Nature Genetics on April 1. "The study has identified...

Broccoli and tomato -- two vegetables known to help fight cancer -- are more effective against prostate cancer if they're eaten together as part of a daily diet than if they're eaten alone, a new study with rats suggests.University of Illinois researchers fed a diet containing 10 percent broccoli powder and 10 percent tomato powder to a group of rats that had been implanted with prostate cancer cells. Other groups of rats received either tomato powder or broccoli powder alone; a supplemental dose of lycopene (the red pigment in tomatoes believed to be an anti-cancer agent); or finasteride, a drug...

Fifteen years ago, Irwin Richardt was asked this question as he sat in the kitchen of his sagging clapboard house with no heat, little plumbing and only one room with electricity. "Who will take care of you when you get too sick or too old to work?" "My neighbors. That's the way God intended it to be." Richardt said this with absolute confidence. It was how the old farmer spoke. In slogans and dogmatic truths. Strong words from a slight, soft-eyed man with a thinning white ponytail. The question was asked as Richardt explained why he chose to live like...

A genetic "roadmap" will help to find treatments for diseases, by looking at the signatures that drugs leave behind. A newly developed genetic "roadmap" promises to streamline the drug discovery process. Called the Connectivity Map, this public database matches drug compounds with diseased cells and the processes occurring within them. "The reason it's so difficult to find those disease and drug connections is that the languages in which they are conventionally described are very different," says Justin Lamb, senior scientist at the Broad Institute in Cambridge, MA. "A physician would describe a disease in terms of its physical symptoms, whereas...

The PSA test, used to screen men for detecting prostate cancer has been declared all but useless by a pioneer in the procedure. Stanford University School of Medicine professor Dr. Thomas Stamey said "The PSA era is over in the United States." Dr. Stamey and colleagues examined more than 1,300 prostate tissue samples removed by urologists at Stanford over the past 20 years. Researchers divided the data from the samples into four five-year periods between 1983 and 2004. They found a substantial decrease in the connection between PSA levels and the amount of prostate cancer over time. In the first...

Risky Legacy: African DNA linked to prostate cancer Ben Harder The high rate of prostate cancer among African American men may result in large part from a newly identified stretch of DNA passed down from their African ancestors. A black man's odds of developing prostate cancer by age 55 are more than twice those of a white man. The racial discrepancy is less pronounced when the disease appears later. Researchers have suspected for years that genetic factors account for part of the racial difference in risk. Most African Americans have both African and European forebears, so their chromosomes are mosaics...

There's a new da Vinci in town -- but this one is devoted to the surgeon's art. Newark Beth Israel Medical Center is opening its Robotic Training Center, featuring the new $1.5 million da Vinci S Surgical System. The new system allows for greater precision in performing minimally invasive operations. Doctors from all over the world are expected to train at the center -- one of only three sites in the country to have the latest da Vinci robot. The other two are The Methodist Hospital in Houston, affiliated with the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, and the Sunnyvale,...

UCLA study shows altering fatty acid levels in diet may reduce prostate cancer growth rate UCLA researchers found that altering the fatty acid ratio found in the typical Western diet to include more omega-3 fatty acids and decrease the amount of omega-6 fatty acids may reduce prostate cancer tumor growth rates and PSA levels. Published in the Aug. 1 issue of the journal Clinical Cancer Research, this initial animal-model study is one of the first to show the impact of diet on lowering an inflammatory response known to promote prostate cancer tumor progression and could lead to new treatment approaches....

A team of scientists says it has detected a variant gene associated with prostate cancer, a finding that may make possible a diagnostic test to help decide which patients are the best candidates for aggressive treatment. The discovery, by DeCode Genetics, a gene-finding company in Iceland, may also help explain why African-Americans, in whom the variant is more common, have a greater incidence of the disease. Prostate cancer is a common disease with many causes, both genetic and environmental. Detection of the underlying genes is difficult because each seems to have only a small effect on the risk of getting...

Earl Woods, who was more determined to raise a good son than a great golfer and became the architect and driving force behind Tiger Woods' phenomenal career, died Wednesday morning at his home in Cypress, Calif. He was 74. "My dad was my best friend and greatest role model, and I will miss him deeply," Tiger Woods said on his Web site. "I'm overwhelmed when I think of all of the great things he accomplished in his life. He was an amazing dad, coach, mentor, soldier, husband and friend. I wouldn't be where I am today without him, and I'm...

Saw this headline but no link - anyone hear of this yet?

    A new test that combines multiple scientific disciplines can predict accurately which men are either at high or low risk for a return of cancer after surgical removal of the prostate gland.     The test, known as Prostate PX, is the first and only diagnostic test that combines cellular, molecular and clinical information about a patient with advanced computer technology and digital imaging to deliver the patient's individual risk for a recurrence of cancer.     Produced by Aureon Laboratories of Yonkers, N.Y., Prostate PX was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in February and gradually is being marketed around the...

Cancer Cell Biology Vitamin E succinate suppresses prostate tumor growth by inducing apoptosis Mokenge P. Malafa 1 *, Frida D. Fokum 2, Jennifer Andoh 2, Leslie T. Neitzel 2, Sucharita Bandyopadhyay 3, Rui Zhan 3, Megumi Iiizumi 3, Eiji Furuta 3, Elizabeth Horvath 1, Kounosuke Watabe 3 1Division of GI Tumors, Department of Interdisciplinary Oncology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, FL2Surgical Oncology Laboratory, Department of Surgery, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL3Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL email: Mokenge P. Malafa (malafamp@moffitt.usf.edu) *Correspondence to Mokenge P....

The ingredient which makes jalapeno peppers hot also makes prostate cancer cells commit suicide, a study suggests. Tests showed that capsaicin triggered 80% of the cells to start the process leading to cell death. The US research in the journal Cancer Research also found tumours treated with capsaicin were smaller. UK prostate experts say capsaicin could be the basis of a future drug but warned eating too many hot peppers has been linked to stomach cancer. We caution men with prostate cancer in the UK against upping their weekly intake of the hottest known chillies Chris Hiley, The Prostate Cancer...

The red-hot power of chillies can kill cancer By Roger Highfield, Science Editor (Filed: 16/03/2006) The substance in chillies that causes the tongue to burn also drives prostate cancer cells to kill themselves, according to research that could pave the way for new treatments. The pepper component capsaicin makes the cells undergo programmed cell death or apoptosis, says a study published in the journal Cancer Research. High intake of hot chillis has been linked to stomach cancer Tests found that it induced approximately 80 per cent of cancer cells growing in mice to follow the molecular pathways leading to apoptosis....

THURSDAY, March 16 (HealthDay News) -- Capsaicin, the component that gives jalapeno peppers their heat, may also kill prostate cancer cells, a new study suggests.Initial experiments in cancer cells and mice show that capsaicin causes prostate cancer cells to undergo a kind of suicide. Researchers speculate that, in the future, pills containing capsaicin might be used as therapy to prevent prostate cancer's return. According to their report, capsaicin caused almost 80 percent of prostate cancer cells in the mice to die. In addition, prostate cancer tumors treated with capsaicin were about one-fifth the size of tumors in untreated mice. "Capsaicin...

Capsaicin, the compound that gives red pepper its heat, could stop the spread of prostate cancer, claims a new study. Red chilli pepper has previously been linked to inhibiting the growth of pancreatic cancer cells, and has been suggested to cut fat and energy intake when added to the diet. “We show that capsaicin has a profound inhibiting effect on the growth of prostate cancer cells in vitro and in vivo , inducing apoptosis [programmed cell death] of prostate cancer cell lines,” wrote lead author Akio Mori from the University of California, Los Angeles. The new study, published in the...

SAN FRANCISCO - In a surprising discovery, researchers say they have found a virus in some prostate cancer patients, a finding that opens new research avenues in the most common major cancer among men in the United States. The virus, closely related to one previously found only in mice, was found in cancerous prostates removed from men with a certain genetic defect. The researchers, with the University of California, San Francisco and the Cleveland Clinic, warn that they have not discovered any links between the virus and prostate cancer, but they were nonetheless excited about prospects for future research. "It...

Ladies, if you love your man, give him cauliflower curry with a side of kale for dinner. It may stave off prostate cancer, according to research released yesterday by Rutgers University. Though they don't often make the favorite menus of most men, cauliflower and kale -- along with cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, watercress and turnips -- contain a chemical that is a significant cancer-preventive.

Two widely used tests for prostate cancer failed to save lives in a new study, adding to the debate over whether men should be screened for the disease. The study was small — only 1,002 men — and will not be the final word on the issue. But it may hint at what lies ahead when the results of two large studies of prostate cancer screening appear in a few years. The researchers looked at two screening tests that are performed millions of times a year in the United States: a blood test that measures prostate specific antigen, or PSA,...

A combination of vitamin D and an over-the-counter painkiller halts the growth of prostate cancer cells, researchers at Stanford University report.Although their work was done with cells grown in the laboratory, the results were so promising that a trial of the treatment has been started with prostate cancer patients, said Dr. David Feldman, a professor of medicine at Stanford and lead author of the study in the Sept. 1 issue of Cancer Research. The trial used calcitriol, a form of vitamin D available only by prescription, and naproxen, sold over the counter as Aleve and other brand names. The original...

ASSOCIATED PRESS ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Scientists at the University of Michigan Medical School are part of a team that has discovered a possible cause of prostate cancer, a finding they say could result in better forms of treatment or possibly a cure. The findings show a recurring pattern of scrambled chromosomes that leads to the merging of specific genes. The activity occurs only in prostate cancer. The Michigan researchers, with researchers at the Harvard Medical School-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, found the abnormality in the majority of prostate cancer tissue samples they analyzed. The gene fusion was...

CAROTENOIDS MAY PROTECT AGAINST PROSTATE CANCER   Asians are well known to have a low incidence of prostate cancer. Australian and Chinese researchers conducted what is called a "case-control study" in southeast China, the first of its kind in an Asian population. They discovered that dietary lycopene and other carotenoids may protect against prostate cancer.   The researchers compared 130 patients with adenocarcinoma of the prostate to 274 controls - men who were in the hospital for conditions other than prostate cancer. They found that the more carotenoid-rich foods the men ate, the less their risk of developing prostate cancer....

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - It's the most common major cancer in America, even though it affects only one sex. Lifetime odds of getting it are 1 in 6. Testing for it is controversial, and treating it robs many of a body part that's important to their sexuality. This isn't breast cancer, a disease tattooed into the American psyche. It is its male counterpart, which has made a much fainter mark. Prostate cancer gets a fraction of what is spent on breast cancer research, and virtually nothing is known about what causes it. It is the only cancer that doctors debate...

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Getting a little sunshine may be one way for men to cut their risk of prostate cancer. A large study presented at a cancer conference Thursday found that men with higher levels vitamin D in their blood were half as likely to develop aggressive forms of the disease than those with lower amounts. Doctors are not ready to recommend the ``sunshine vitamin'' without more study, but many see little harm in getting the 15 minutes a day that the body needs to make enough of this nutrient. ``When you were little and...

Suffering from sleep problems? Go to a urologist. Problems with sexual functioning? Go to a sleep laboratory. This advice might sound mixed up, but it is what Israeli researchers are recommending following the findings of their study that has found a direct link between Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSAS) and erectile dysfunction (ED). The study will be published soon in the medical journal Urology, and was conducted by Dr. David Margel, from the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva, and Dr. Giora Pillar from the Technion. They found that the more severe the apnea the more acute the impotence problems, and...

"Law & Order" actor Jerry Orbach has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, his manager said. "We expect he'll be fine. He's been playing golf, shooting his episodes and doing real well," manager Robert Malcolm told the New York Daily News for Thursday editions. Orbach starred for 12 seasons in the original "Law & Order" series, but left to head the spin-off "Law & Order: Trial by Jury," set to debut next year. So far, Orbach's illness has not disrupted production of the new show in any way, producer Dick Wolf said. "We expect him to make a full and swift...

James Brown has prostate cancer Friday, December 10, 2004 Posted: 8:03 AM EST (1303 GMT) NEW YORK (AP) -- James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul" and a legend in rap, rock and funk, has announced that he has prostate cancer. In a statement released to The Associated Press on Friday morning, Brown, 71, said that he will undergo surgery for the ailment on December 15. "I have overcome a lot of things in my life. I will overcome this as well," Brown said. Brown, best known for seminal hits like "I Feel Good," "Please, Please, Please," and "Cold Sweat," is...

James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul" and a legend in rap, rock and funk, has announced that he has prostate cancer. AP Photo Reuters Slideshow: James Brown In a statement released to The Associated Press on Friday morning, Brown, 71, said that he will undergo surgery for the ailment on Dec. 15. "I have overcome a lot of things in my life. I will overcome this as well," Brown said. Brown, best known for seminal hits like "I Feel Good," "Please, Please, Please," and "Cold Sweat," is also a diabetic. Dubbed the hardest working man in show business, he just...

Colo. folk-rock great Fogelberg diagnosed with prostate cancer By Ricardo Baca Denver Post Pop Music Critic Friday, August 20, 2004 - Dan Fogelberg, one of Colorado's most prominent folk-rock residents, has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, according to wire service reports. Fogelberg recently canceled a 16-city acoustic tour on the East Coast, but the seriousness of his illness was in dispute Thursday. A message from the singer on his website said, "The reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated." That statement followed an earlier comment from his mother, Margaret Fogelberg, who told the Journal-Star in Peoria, Ill., where Fogelberg...

John Kerry's upbeat prognosis: The Massachusetts senator and Democratic presidential candidate says he'll beat the cancer that killed his father. And he'll be campaigning again soon. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - By Jake Tapper Feb. 12, 2003 | For many Americans, the first glimpse at Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry -- perhaps the frontrunner for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination -- came on Tuesday evening when he announced that he...

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Men with prostate cancer that does not appear to have spread have better survival chances when they get short-term hormone treatment along with standard radiation, rather than radiation alone, a small study has found. Almost five years after treatment, 88 percent of men who received the combined treatment were still alive, compared with 78 percent who had only radiation. The study involved about 200 men and was conducted by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. An article on the study appears in the current issue of The Journal of the...

Republican Georgia Senator has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. He's expected to do OK with treatment. WSB-TV lead with this story on their 11 PM newscast; more details are due shortly.

FOUR nanograms of prostate specific antigen, or P.S.A., per milliliter. For more than a decade, that has been the line between normal and abnormal on a common annual blood test used to screen for prostate cancer. Above four and you need a biopsy of your prostate to look for cancer. Below four and you go home. But a new study, published last week in The New England Journal of Medicine, showed that no matter how low his P.S.A. level, a man could have prostate cancer. In addition, it has long been known that men whose prostates are enlarged, a normal...

Significant numbers of older men whose results on a popular screening test for prostate cancer are normal may nonetheless have cancer, a new study has found. The result, medical experts say, raises questions about what a normal test score should be and whether these men are better off let alone or treated when, through biopsies, cancer cells are discovered. It also amplifies a controversy over the test, known as the P.S.A., and whether finding prostate cancer early and treating it by removing or destroying the prostate is, on balance, helping or harming men. The P.S.A. test is a blood test...