Men suspected of having prostate cancer based on rising PSA or abnormal DRE are typically sent for a transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) guided biopsy using 12 or more needles. At least 30% of TRUS biopsies miss the disease that is present, not to mention the possible side effects of the biopsy itself. What happens next? The keep reading
When it comes to Active Surveillance (AS) decisions, there’s good news and bad news. The good news: based on biopsy results, more doctors are recommending AS for prostate cancer (PCa) patients with insignificant disease. The bad news: the biopsy might have missed significant PCa so the patient can’t know for sure if AS is a keep reading
It’s time to silence the economic naysayers who claim that multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) is too expensive for detecting and diagnosing prostate cancer. Results from a new study out of Brigham and Women’s Hospital[i] (Boston, MA) in partnership with AdMeTech reflect how the Sperling Prostate Center has been ahead of its time. The study demonstrates how keep reading
The word is out: Patients with early stage, low risk prostate cancer have often been rushed into radical prostatectomy when many of them could have afforded to wait to seek treatment—possibly for years. Untold numbers of men were left with urinary and sexual problems that lasted for months, or were never fully resolved. For low keep reading
Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is a treatment for prostate cancer that has spread outside the gland. It is also called hormone therapy or chemical castration. The purpose of ADT is to reduce the production of male hormones, especially testosterone, which has the effect of temporarily halting the ability of prostate cancer cells to multiply and keep reading
I read a study on the accuracy of prostate MRI for predicting that no prostate cancer (PCa) is present. This is called the negative predictive value (NPV), and the authors make a great point in their introduction: The reliability of a negative MRI is a key clinical metric – if the MRI is reported as keep reading
Everyone knows that money doesn’t buy happiness. But can it buy life? A new study out of the University of Washington Medical Center suggests that prostate cancer patients in extreme financial distress are more likely to die than those who are not. This doesn’t mean that having money can buy life, but hardship is a keep reading
It is always gratifying for a doctor when something he or she wholeheartedly believes in gets affirmed by published research. For me, this is the case with a new Italian study, “The Roles of Multiparametric MRI, PCA3, and PHI: Which Is The Best Predictor of Prostate Cancer After a Negative Biopsy?”[i] The authors recognize the keep reading
When you’re cruising along in good health, it’s easy to take that smooth road for granted. An annual physical with a PSA is a little like stopping at a red light and waiting till the light changes. When the physical ends, you figure it’s a green light and leave the office, expecting to go on keep reading
A prominent urologist wrote an articulate article on how the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force made a recommendation against broad PSA screening based on an oversimplification of a complex issue. He made an eloquent declaration on several ways in which urologists are “embracing strategies to preserve, or even further decrease, prostate cancer mortality while minimizing keep reading