General

Seemingly overnight, treatment of men with early-stage prostate cancer has undergone a sea change. Five years ago, nearly all opted for surgery or radiation; now, nearly half are choosing no treatment at all. The approach is called active surveillance. It means their cancers are left alone but regularly monitored to be sure they are not growing. Just 10 percent to 15 percent of early-stage prostate cancer patients were being treated by active surveillance several years ago. Now, data from three independent sources consistently finds that 40 percent to 50 percent of them are making that choice. Read the article.

Here are six things you should know about the possibility of developing prostate cancer. Read the article.

Tumours are subject to the same rules of natural selection as any other living thing. Clinicians are now putting that knowledge to use. Thanks to advances in sequencing technology and the development of massive collections of samples and clinical data, scientists are piecing together a more precise picture of how cancer evolves, revealing the roots of resistance and, in some cases, finding out how it might be overcome. With a growing arsenal of treatments, biologists are trying to capitalize on these insights. Read the article.

According to new research, men with a positive family history for prostate cancer are more likely to have lower risk disease at diagnosis, organ-confined disease at the time of surgery, and improved cancer-specific and overall survival. Read the article.

Challenges remain. Take the case of prostate cancer, where the cells don’t center on one specific site or lesion. Instead, they spread like seeds throughout the gland, making immune system targeting difficult. Instead of a cure, most cancer researchers talk about better remission rates, as there is always the chance that the cancer may return. Since 1971, we’ve made great progress. 1.7 million deaths have been avoided between 1991 and 2012, according to the American Cancer Society. But many of these are due to the stamping out of smoking, and better screening for breast and prostate cancer. This scourge of

The author writes about his personal treatment for prostate cancer and what he wished he had known beforehand. Read the article.

The provinces vary substantially with respect to the types of primary treatment received by men with localized low-risk pca. From 2010 to 2013, many men had no record of surgical or radiation treatment within 1 year of diagnosis-a proxy for active surveillance; the proportion ranged from 53.3% in Nova Scotia to 80.8% in New Brunswick. Among men who did receive primary treatment, the use of radical prostatectomy ranged from 12.0% in New Brunswick to 35.9% in Nova Scotia. The use of radiation therapy (external-beam radiation therapy or brachytherapy) ranged from 4.1% in Newfoundland and Labrador to 17.6% in Alberta. Treatment

The treatment options for men with prostate cancer are constantly evolving, adding further stress to an already challenging decision. Before receiving treatment, men should receive a second opinion and fully understand their options, according to Jim Schraidt, a prostate cancer survivor from Chicago who leads a support group for Us TOO International. Read the article.

Recent epidemiologic evidence suggests that higher circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D does not protect against prostate cancer and, in fact, may increase the risk of developing this malignancy. However, few studies have examined the most clinically relevant outcome, prostate cancer mortality. This study showed in a population of men diagnosed with prostate cancer, higher serum 25(OH)D years prior to diagnosis was associated with longer prostate cancer survival. Read the article.