PSA velocity's clinical usefulness remains unclearOctober 10, 2007Some studies have suggested that the rate of change of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels may correspond with prostate cancer survival. But this does not necessarily mean that PSA velocity will be valuable as a prostate cancer screening tool, according to a commentary published online October 9 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. PSA velocity has been the subject of much research and debate since the beginning of the PSA screening era. Initially, PSA velocity was proposed for use in men with moderately elevated PSA levels in order to decrease the number of unnecessary biopsies. But often PSA velocity is being used in men with low PSA levels, effectively increasing the number of men who are referred to have a biopsy. Ruth Etzioni, Ph.D., of the Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center in Seattle and colleagues reviewed several recent articles on PSA velocity. They point out in their commentary the important differences between studies of PSA velocity in the cancer screening setting and studies of PSA velocity and prostate cancer progression after diagnosis. These differences lead them to question whether PSA velocity is useful for early detection of prostate cancer.
No studies to date have addressed the costs and benefits of using PSA velocity for prostate cancer screening. "One of the main goals of this commentary has been to reconcile some of the inconsistencies across studies by highlighting features of study design and potential sources of bias that might explain why different types of studies have produced differing results," the authors write. Journal of the National Cancer Institute | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Related Prostate Cancer News Articles Too much calcium in blood may increase risk of fatal prostate cancer Men who have too much calcium in their bloodstreams may have an increased risk of fatal prostate cancer, according to a new analysis from Wake Forest University School of Medicine and the University of Wisconsin. Height linked to risk of prostate cancer development and progression A man's height is a modest marker for risk of prostate cancer development, but is more strongly linked to progression of the cancer, say British researchers who conducted their own study on the connection and also reviewed 58 published studies. Health risk behaviors associated with lower prostate specific antigen awareness According to a study conducted at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, health risk behaviors such as smoking and obesity are associated with lower awareness of the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA), which could lead to a lower likelihood of undergoing actual prostate cancer screening. Study shows PDE5 inhibitor more effective when used on demand in erectile dysfunction European Urology, the official journal of the European Association of Urology will be featuring the article 'Effect of nightly versus on-demand vardenafil on recovery of erectile function in men following bilateral nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy' by F. Montorsi et al.in the October issue, showing for the first time that vardenafil, a PDE5 inhibitor, is more efficacious when used on-demand in men with erectile dysfunction, supporting a shift towards on-demand dosing with PDE5 inhibitors in this patient group. Satisfaction and regret after radical prostatectomy procedures studied Studies have shown that approximately 16% of patients with localised prostate cancer regret their treatment choice. European Urology, the official journal of the European Association of Urology, will be publishing an article by J.W. Moul et al. comparing differences in satisfaction and regret between patients who underwent open retropubic radical prostatectomy and robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. State's first single incision robotic kidney removal For the first time in Michigan, a diseased kidney has been surgically removed at Henry Ford Hospital using highly sophisticated 3D robotics through a single incision. Anti-tumor effects are enhanced by inhibiting 2 pathways rather than 1 Two independent research groups have found that simultaneous inhibition of two signaling pathways resulted in substantially enhanced antitumor effects in mouse models of prostate and breast cancer. In an accompany commentary, Steven Grant, at Virginia Commonwealth University Health Science Center, Richmond, discusses the clinical importance of these studies and highlights some of the questions that still need to be answered. Why a common treatment for prostate cancer ultimately fails Some of the drugs given to many men during their fight against prostate cancer can actually spur some cancer cells to grow, researchers have found. The findings were published online this week in a pair of papers in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. PSA screening may be biased against obese men, leading to more aggressive cancers Testing men for elevated levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in the blood -- the gold standard screening test for prostate cancer -- may be biased against obese men, whose PSA levels tend to be deceptively low. Study finds more PSA screening awareness needed among high-risk groups In one of the first examinations of PSA screening in younger men, a study published by researchers at Duke Medicine's Prostate Center finds that one-fifth of men under age 50 reported undergoing a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test to detect prostate cancer in the previous year, yet only one in three young black men reported ever having a PSA test in the previous year. More Prostate Cancer News Articles |
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