Prostate Cancer

Epigenetic profiling of prostate biopsies significantly improved the accuracy of predicting cancer in men with negative results, according to a late-breaking abstract presented at the AUA annual meeting in San Diego.

Combining a prostate cancer gene assay with standard risk-stratification factors substantially increased information to guide decision making about active surveillance, a validation study of the assay showed.

Findings from a meta-analysis, including data from five independent patient cohorts, show that a novel genetic test is a powerful prognostic predictor of prostate cancer outcome across diverse clinical settings.

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Two new studies provide insights into aggressive prostate cancer that may suggest novel approaches to treatment.

A natural form of sugar could offer a new, noninvasive way to precisely image prostate and other tumors and potentially see whether cancer medication is effective, by means of a new imaging technology.

The advent of new biomarkers for prostate cancer could help determine the need for observation vs. interventional therapies.

The transition to ICD-10 is not just another thing on urologists’ plates. It’s the main course, and time to prepare for the change is running short.

Prostate cancer aggressiveness may be established when the tumor is formed and does not alter with time, according to a recent study.

After 18 years of follow-up, new findings from the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial show that the 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor finasteride (Proscar) reduces the risk of prostate cancer by about one-third but has no effect on mortality risk.

Major organizations representing urology are livid at the conclusions of a new report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, which basically accuses urology practices with in-office intensity-modulated radiation therapy facilities of ripping off Medicare.

Provision of intensity-modulated radiation therapy services performed by self-referring groups “increased rapidly” between 2006 and 2010 while the rate declined for non-self-referring groups, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office.

A group of scientists that includes a urologist is proposing a major update of the way the U.S. approaches diseases now classified as “cancer,” including eliminating that term from tumors considered indolent.

Men who receive decision aids about prostate cancer screening appear to have significantly increased knowledge about screening and less conflict about what to do, but the decision aids show little impact on their decision whether or not to be screened.

Men who are diagnosed with azoospermia are more prone to developing cancer than the general population, according to a recent study.

Drugs and devices in the pipeline from Targacept, Inc., Cubist, OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Apricus Biosciences, and Nymox Pharmaceutical Corp.

An effort in Sweden aimed at reducing inappropriate use of imaging to stage incident prostate cancer appears to be succeeding, and similar programs may help cut inappropriate imaging in the United States, researchers say.

In this interview, Dr. H. Ballentine Carter clarifies some misconceptions about the AUA PSA guideline and explains how it will benefit patients.

The rate of therapy for localized prostate cancer does not rise in markets with higher penetration of robotic surgical technology and intensity-modulated radiation therapy, according to a study presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago.

Data from a pivotal phase III trial of the radiotherapeutic agent radium Ra 223 dichloride (Xofigo) in castration-resistant prostate cancer patients have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine (2013; 369:213-23).

Use of androgen deprivation therapy was associated with a significantly increased risk of acute kidney injury, with variations observed with certain types of ADT, according to a recent study.

Analyses of data from men in the intervention (screening) arm of the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovary (PLCO) study show that prostatic biopsy is not associated with an increased risk of early mortality.

Some men with low-risk prostate cancer who are being managed by active surveillance can have their PSA levels measured every 6 months instead of every 3 months, researchers reported at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago.

In men with diabetes who are diagnosed with prostate cancer, use of metformin reduces both cancer-specific and all-cause mortality, and the treatment benefits increase with increasing cumulative duration of exposure to the drug, according to the results of a retrospective study presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago.

The data are not convincing that one form of newer technology is superior to the traditional lower-cost prostate cancer treatments they replace (eg, robotic vs. open prostatectomy and photon vs. proton radiation).