Tag: Prostate cancer

• June 11, 2017
• Other Treatments

Prostate Cancer Drugs Are Linked to Dementia

Men need testosterone, but prostate cancer does not. While there is new evidence that use of testosterone replacement therapy does not lead to prostate cancer, once prostate cancer has occurred, it appears to be fueled by testosterone. This is particularly bad news if prostate cancer has penetrated the edges of the gland capsule and begun keep reading

• May 18, 2017
• Imaging & mpMRI

Multiparametric MRI Before Prostate Biopsy: Dawn of a New Era

“Change is inevitable. Progress is optional.” Tony Robbins In medicine, change sometimes happens with two steps forward but one step back. For example, in the early 20th century, delivering babies in hospitals became more popular than home births in order to have “painless” births with anesthesia. However, for many women the higher complication and infection keep reading

• May 16, 2017
• Imaging & mpMRI

Less Expensive MRI Rules Out Unnecessary Prostate Biopsy

Two problems face men who have a high PSA or abnormal digital rectal exam (DRE). First, they are often referred for a conventional TRUS needle biopsy of the prostate because there is suspicion of prostate cancer (PCa). Second, multiparametric MRI is considered too time-consuming and expensive for routine determination of the need for a biopsy. keep reading

• May 4, 2017
• Imaging & mpMRI

How to Detect Cancer in Large Prostate Glands

There are so many benefits to detecting prostate cancer (PCa) using multiparametric MRI that it’s hard to single out just one. However, the merits of mpMRI to find PCa in large glands deserve a spotlight. First, a word about prostate size. An average adult gland in younger men is about 30 – 40cc, roughly the keep reading

• April 9, 2017
• Active Surveillance

Why Choose the Sperling Prostate Center for Active Surveillance?

With Active Surveillance on the rise, one would think that doctors who support AS for their prostate cancer patients have similar commitment and protocols. A new study (Sep. 2016) in the British Journal of Urology International (BJUI) spells out 8 areas of qualitative differences among AS doctors: physician comfort with active surveillance protocol selection beliefs keep reading

• March 28, 2017
• Imaging & mpMRI

British Study Confirms the Role of mpMRI Before Biopsy

Terrific news and a great way to start off 2017! On January 17, the prestigious medical journal The Lancet issued online publication of a British study, “Diagnostic accuracy of multi-parametric MRI and TRUS biopsy in prostate cancer (PROMIS): a paired validating confirmatory study” (Ahmed et al., 2017[i]). This large trial validated the importance of multiparametric keep reading

• January 24, 2017
• Active Surveillance
• Imaging & mpMRI

MRI Outperforms PHI for Patients Considering Active Surveillance

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

• November 3, 2016
• Active Surveillance
• Imaging & mpMRI

Multiparametric MRI Shows Safety of Testosterone Replacement During Active Surveillance

Testosterone has important benefits for men. When it’s at a normal level, it helps develop muscle mass, decrease fat, avoid depression, keep bones strong, maintain libido, improve erections, and may help reduce risks of cardiovascular and cognitive disease. However, about 40% of men over the age of 45 have symptoms of reduced blood levels of keep reading

• October 20, 2016
• Other Treatments

Patients Need to Know about Focal Alternatives

One of the most respected robotic surgeons, Dr. David Samadi, is an active online participant, with regular blogs on relevant prostate cancer topics. The New York Daily News recently (Sep. 22, 2016) carried an article by Dr. Samadi, “Prostate Cancer Means Deciding between Surgery or Radiation.”[i] In talking about the necessity of doing research in keep reading

• October 5, 2016
• Other Treatments

Potential Complications of Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy, or freezing, is a method of destroying prostate cancer by subjecting the prostate gland to the extreme temperature of -40° Celsius. The procedure, done under anesthesia, consists of using ultrasound image guidance to insert thin hollow needles into the prostate gland through the perineum (skin between the scrotum and anus). When argon gas is keep reading