No support for US official bodies’ policy to not test PSA in over-75s

URO TODAY: New research shows there is little medical profession or public support for a US Preventative Services Task Force recommendation to discontinue PSA screening at age 75. READ MORE>

Sticking with prostate cancer screening gives men far better chance of not dying from the disease

URO TODAY: Men who stick with prostate screening have a much better chance of not dying of prostate cancer, Swedish researchers have established. READ MORE>

How can couples cope with prostate cancer? This report won’t enlighten you much

URO TODAY: Only a few programmes are designed to help couples cope with the effects of prostate cancer, and typically, only their intervention outcomes are reported. READ MORE>

WARNING: This report is virtually impenetrable because of the bureaucratic language. I gave up trying to make sense of it, but have included it because of the importance of the topic.

Benefit seen in having chemo-radiation treatment prior to prostate removal

SCIENCE DAILY: A combination of radiation therapy and chemotherapy given before prostate removal is safe and may have the potential to reduce cancer recurrence and improve patient survival. READ MORE>

Death risk greater if prostate cancer patients’ PSA rises with 18 months of radiotherapy

ATLANTA JOURNAL: Prostate cancer patients whose prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels rise within 18 months after radiotherapy have an increased risk of death, say U.S. researchers. READ MORE>

‘Prostate surgery shrank my dick – but I don’t care,’ say majority in new study

URO TODAY: More than two-thirds of men who have radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer end up with a shorter penis – but apparently it’s not a big issue for most, according to new Canadian research. READ MORE>

New guidelines issued in US for prostate cancer brachytherapy treatment

URO TODAY: Radiation dose delivered to the prostate and nearby organs in every brachytherapy procedure should be carefully analysed using post-implant CT or MRI and uniformly documented in every patient, according to new brachytherapy guidelines just issued in the US. READ MORE>

Newer kind of radiation therapy works better on high risk prostate cancer patients

REUTERS: Hypo-fractionated radiation treatment – a newer type of radiation treatment that delivers higher doses of radiation in fewer treatments than conventional radiation therapy – is significantly more effective in stopping prostate cancer from growing in high risk patients. READ MORE>

Prostate cancer tumour blood vessels may be guide to how risky it is

SCIENCE DAILY: The size and shape of the blood vessels visible within a prostate cancer tumour may be a useful clue to how the cancer will behave and how it needs to be treated. READ MORE>

A diagnosis of prostate cancer raises the question for patients and their physicians as to how the tumour will behave.

Will it grow quickly and aggressively and require continuous treatment, or slowly, allowing therapy and its risks to be safely delayed?

The answer may lie in the size and shape of the blood vessels that are visible within the cancer.

No clear links between red meat and prostate cancer – except maybe when you mess with it in cooking

URO TODAY: There are no clear associations between red meat and fatal prostate cancer, says a new study of 170,000 US men. [But] red and processed meat may be associated with prostate cancer via mechanisms involving  READ MORE>