Tag: prostate cancer

Previously, we posted a recommended caution that men of African American descent discuss possible risks of going on Active Surveillance (AS) even when early clinical factors suggested they qualify for AS. Then, the authors of a 2018 paper noted that the observational studies encouraging more use of AS were largely composed of White men, raising the question of whether positive results of those studies should be applied to Black men. After reviewing studies that focused on Black men, they concluded... keep reading

Here’s hot-off-the-presses news regarding the protective benefit of metformin against a nasty side effect of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). ADT means cutting off a man’s androgens (male hormones, including testosterone) in order to stop advanced prostate cancer in its tracks. ADT is effective in halting the progression of PCa, but it comes with a price... keep reading

Shared decision-making (SDM) is the new hot ticket for choosing a prostate cancer (PCa) treatment. I posted a 2023 blog about the importance of doctor-patient conversations that enable patients to ask questions and share their concerns, while doctors take on the role of neutral educator and empathic listener. This collaboration helps patients avoid treatment regret keep reading

I’ve posted numerous blogs on the promising applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the medical world. Early research and development of Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning (DL) show results that offer accuracy rivaling that of humans, and speed/efficiency no human can begin to approach. This all sounds glorious! However, as AI tools have become keep reading

No doubt you are aware that many toxic substances are associated with higher cancer risk, and when there’s definite evidence of causing cancer, they are called carcinogens. For example, several national and international bodies have linked Agent Orange with prostate cancer (PCa) and numerous other cancers or cancer precursors. However, there are studies that suggest keep reading

Differences between male and female are both debated and celebrated. The Bottle Rockets sang, “Now everybody knows there’s a difference/Between a woman and a man.” John Gray’s book Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus quickly soared to bestseller status. And the French immortalized the declaration vive la difference! (long live the difference!) For keep reading

“How to handle a woman?” sings King Arthur in the Broadway musical Camelot. The king is perplexed by a seemingly eternal puzzle: what do women most desire? In fact, it’s the very question addressed in the medieval legend of how handsome Sir Gawain came to marry the ugliest hag on earth—and how his correct response keep reading

A new study out of MD Anderson Cancer Center and University of Texas Medical Branch tells a cautionary tale: “men with prostate cancer are at risk for competing morbidity and mortality from age-related cardiometabolic diseases.”[i] This sounds pretty scary. Why would having prostate cancer (PCa) be connected with higher risk of illness and death from keep reading

Starting over a decade ago, I collaborated on research into MRI imaging features that lend themselves to Artificial Intelligence training sets for the detection/diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa). As an early AI contributor, I’m always happy to learn how other PCa physicians integrate AI into their practice. I was delighted when CancerNetwork (home of the keep reading

Magnetic resonance imaging is obviously sensitive to magnetized substances, and a particular form of iron, an iron oxide called magnetite, is now being used to produce such particles. When they are coated with special polymers, the result is a fine powder that can be blended with liquid and injected into the body. Certain types of healthy cells take up the particles... keep reading