Artificial Intelligence in Medicine: Predicting Prostate Cancer Progression During Active Surveillance
“Despite increasing adoption of active surveillance (AS) for low-risk prostate cancer, AS discontinuation rates are high, investigators report.” This quote, from a September 2021 Renal & Urology News report, referred to a study of over 16,000 Canadian prostate cancer (PCa) patients who had been diagnosed with low risk disease from 2008-2014. 51% of these patients keep reading
Another Reason to Reconsider Radiation Treatment: Low Testosterone
Men with localized prostate cancer (PCa) are usually given three treatment choices: radical prostatectomy (RP), external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) or Active Surveillance (AS). Although patients are rarely told about minimal-to-noninvasive treatments that can be applied as focal therapy... keep reading
Testosterone Replacement Therapy is Safe for Prostate Cancer Patients
Less than a year after we posted the original blog on the safety of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) in the context of prostate cancer (PCa), a team from Baylor College of Medicine (Houston, TX) published the following statement: “The fears of [TRT] causing or worsening prostate cancer... keep reading
How Do You Track for Prostate Cancer Recurrence after Focal Laser Ablation?
If you had prostate cancer (PCa) and opted to be treated with either prostatectomy (surgical removal) or whole-gland radiation, what sign of recurrence would you watch for? You’d be sure to have an annual PSA blood test. Why? Because after whole-gland treatment, it is expected that your PSA will drop to zero (or very close keep reading
Artificial Intelligence in Medicine: AI Contribution to Wound Assessment and Care
Go online and do a search for “how to measure a wound.” You will find general principles, but you’ll also discover small variations in instructions on how to measure an open wound. How long is it? How wide? Are there irregular spaces below the skin surface or the floor of the wound where infection could keep reading
Comparing Targeted Prostate Biopsy Methods – Which is Most Effective?
As I spend time catching up with recent publications in my areas of specialty, it’s a time-saver to find a paper that reviews, summarizes and compares more than 40 studies. I thank Sugano, et al. (2021)[i] for doing all that work in “Comparative Effectiveness of Techniques in Targeted Prostate Biopsy.” It’s a bonus when the keep readingCan PET/MRI for Breast Cancer Show the Way to Eliminate Prostate Biopsies?
Advances in medicine sometimes involve hybrid technologies, often with stunning results. Just as hybrid cars produce vehicles that offer the best of two worlds in one, integrating two different medical imaging technologies can accomplish the same goal. PET and MRI scans Combining Positron Emitting Tomography (PET) scanning with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) boosts the accuracy keep reading
A Better PSA Calculation
Getting an annual PSA blood test to screen for prostate cancer (PCa) has been likened to playing Russian roulette. You hope to dodge the you’ve-got-prostate-cancer bullet. So far, the search for a 100% accurate liquid biopsy via blood draw or urine test has been as unsuccessful as the hunt for a better mousetrap. keep reading
10 Key Warning Signs of Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is considered highly curable when it is detected early! This is also when a patient has the most treatment choices, including Active Surveillance and focal therapy with few to no side effects. The problem is, early stage prostate cancer is a silent lurker with no symptoms. However... keep reading
