Men's Health

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.

As follow-up lengthens in a prospective, randomized, controlled trial, men who underwent bipolar plasma vaporization of the prostate for BPH using the “button” vapo-resection electrode continue to demonstrate significantly better symptom scores and voiding characteristics compared to their counterparts treated by bipolar transurethral resection in saline or monopolar transurethral resection of the prostate.

Testicular sperm extraction of frozen sperm taken by biopsy in azoospermic men is as effective as fresh sperm taken by biopsy in helping couples conceive through in vitro fertilization (IVF), according to a study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

In the treatment of BPH, while both bipolar-transurethral resection of the prostate (B-TURP) and monopolar-TURP (M-TURP) have similar clinical efficacy, B-TURP is associated with fewer adverse events, according to a recent systematic review of the two modalities.

A minimally invasive implant procedure led to a 50% improvement in lower urinary tract symptoms due to BPH, which was maintained for a year, results of a randomized trial showed.

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).

A greater percentage of men who had an incomplete response to as-needed phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitor treatment returned to normal erectile function when given tadalafil (Cialis) once daily, compared to placebo, researchers reported.

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).

Men plan to continue getting PSA tests despite the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force’s recommendation against screening, but just over one-third of men report shared decision making for screening with their physician, according to findings from two recently published studies.

Nerves play a critical role in both the development and spread of prostate tumors, report researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, Bronx, NY.

High blood concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids are associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer, results of a recently published study show.

Adherence to a series of lifestyle recommendations leads to a significantly decreased risk of highly aggressive prostate cancer, according to a recent study.