Tag: radiation therapy

Oxygen-enhanced MRI may change how prostate cancer is treated, especially for men undergoing radiation therapy. Learn how this groundbreaking imaging technique can reduce radiation doses by tracking tumor response in real-time. keep reading

Advanced prostate cancer (PCa) threatens to shorten a man’s life. Advanced means PCa is no longer contained in the gland but is still within the prostate bed and groin lymph nodes. In such cases, prostatectomy is generally not done. The rationale is to avoid putting a patient through surgery with no hope of cure, yet keep reading

Product warning labels, like most things, change over time. Since the 1850s, the skull and crossbones on a bottle or package has been a clear message that something inside is poisonous. Today, the word “toxic” is widely used to cover all kinds of dangerous chemicals that contaminate our environment... keep reading

The answer to the title question is, it takes collaboration and commitment among several parties who may not have identical interests. Nowhere is this truer than in the area of partial gland treatment for prostate cancer (PCa). After all, a mere 25-30 years ago, a subtotal PCa treatment was unthinkable. At that time, there were keep reading

We want to draw particular attention to a branch of AI called machine learning. When software is specifically “trained” to recognize imaging features, it can “… provide better standardization and consistency in identifying prostate lesions and enhance prostate carcinoma management.” One of the benefits is increased efficiency for busy radiologists who interpret MRI results and write reports. More importantly, however, is... keep reading

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

Not long ago, I posted a blog on the ability of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) to boost the effectiveness of radiation therapy for prostate cancer. This synergistic effect is very important for men with intermediate or higher risk cancer who can’t have (or don’t want) radical prostatectomy, since the greater the risk, the more likely keep reading

Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is like an ID tag for prostate cells. Each prostate cell, whether normal or cancerous, carries proteins (antigens) that can be “shed” into the bloodstream when some type of activity stimulates the prostate. Generally, the more constant the activity, the higher the level of PSA as measured by a simple blood keep reading

What goes up may not come down.  At least, that’s what a new trend in prostate radiation therapy might lead you to believe. The trend is radiation dose escalation. It is occurring in patients who have a radical prostatectomy but whose clinical factors are considered to be a high risk for recurrence. By clinical factors, keep reading