Prostate Cancer News - 8th September 2009 - Weight Gain, Naturopathic medicine, Screening

General Prostate Cancer and Lifestyle News

According to Red Orbit there is a link between mid-life weight gain and the risk of developing prostate cancer. The article mentions that people who gain weight at an early age have a less chance of localised and low grade prostate cancers, whereas white men who gained a significant amount of weight during their middle years have a higher chance of developing of advanced cancers. Interestingly the effect of weight gain in mid-life is race specific: In black men it was seen that there was an increase in low grade cancers, whilst in Japanese men there was actually a decrease in the likelihood of localised prostate cancers.

To mark prostate cancer awareness month the examiner is running a feature on natural ways to beat the condition that affects one in every six men. The article looks at naturopathic medicine and how it can be used alongside (not as a replacement of) traditional treatment methods. Some of the things mentioned in the article include getting screened for prostate cancer, having a healthy diet, and drinking plenty of water.

The Marin Independent journal carries an article discussing the worth of prostate cancer screening. It is largely based upon an article in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. They argue that PSA testing is worthless to the average man at a young age due to the low likelihood of detection compared to the costs involved, and because if you are diagnosed with prostate cancer it will likely be localised and simply undergo a watchful waiting stratergy. They state that more than 20 people have to be diagnosed for every person who lives a longer life. Of course when you are talking about 200,000 new cases a year, then this means 10,000 people will benefit from screening by having a longer life!

Latest Prostate Cancer Research

Arlen and Gulley take a look at the potential use of vaccines to combat prostate cancer in a paper in Anticancer Agents in Medecinal Chemistry. They argue that a better understanding and identification of antigens that are associated with tumors, coupled with immunotherapy vaccines will help in the fight against the condition. They put forward that as prostate cancers grow slowly the body will have plenty of time to develop an immune response to the vaccines.

Namiki and colleagues at the Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan have investigated the quality of life in patients that were treated with external beam radiation therapy or radical prostatectomy. In their studies those treated with radical prostatectomy were of a lower age than those treated with beam radiation therapy and hence had better tumor charactaristics; nontheless they found that despite the usual associated side effects of the conditions, patients who had undergone either of the procedures for localised cancer had a functional health related quality of life. See the article in the Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology for further details.

Featured Prostate Cancer Resource Site

There are many great websites that provide information on dealing with cancers, one of those is provided by the BBC. A page of their health section is dedicated to the condition. As to be expected from the BBC the information is of very high quality and is peer reviewed. However when compared to some of the other conditions the article is rather short. It offers information on the common symptoms of the condition and of various treatment options. Although not very in depth the page acts as a good starting page for those who know little about the condition and offers useful links and news features.

Recommended Reading

A popular page of this website is the one dedicated to diet and the prevention/combat of prostate cancer. The alternative prostate treatment page takes a look at many of the foods and herbs that have been put forward as possible treatments of the condition; some of the better foods out there include tomatoes, green tea and Flaxseed.


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