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Back in 2012, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) took aim at the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening test for prostate cancer with a blanket recommendation against it for all men. This was a big deal. The Task Force is widely seen as the top expert panel on cancer screening in the United States, and […]

A specialized type of diagnostic MRI scan can reduce the number of invasive prostate biopsies by nearly a third, according to results from a newly published international study. An MRI machine uses a very large magnet, a radio-wave transmitter, and a computer to construct detailed pictures of structures inside the body. The new study relied […]

Surprising new normal, healthy blood pressure for men by age 

What's good blood pressure for men by ages? As many as three-quarters of men over 65 have high blood pressure. Many end up taking medication to prevent heart attacks, heart failure, stroke, kidney failure, and erectile dysfunction.

For most people with blood pressure clearly in the red zone, getting their numbers below 140/90 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) is a reasonable goal. However, in December 2013, a panel of experts convened by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) released a recommendation that people over age 60 with high blood pressure could settle for a goal of 150/90—not the more stringent standard of 140/90—and still get health benefits. The American Heart Association rejected the idea, and five of the 17 members on the NIH panel later publicly dissented with the majority opinion. The debate continues.

In the journals

Only a biopsy can determine for certain whether prostate cancer is present, but a new study suggests that using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can help to better identify patients who are more likely to need a biopsy versus those who aren't.

The study, published online Feb. 22, 2018, by JAMA Oncology included 651 men screened for prostate cancer with blood tests and digital rectal exams. Everyone underwent three procedures: an MRI scan, a biopsy guided by transrectal ultrasound (TRUS), and a biopsy guided by both MRI and TRUS.

Combining multiple forms of radiation therapy with hormone treatments lengthens survival in men with aggressive prostate cancer.

For men diagnosed with aggressive cancer that’s confined to the prostate and nearby tissues, the overarching goal of treatment is to keep the disease from spreading (or metastasizing) in the body. Doctors can treat these men with localized therapies, such as surgery and different types of radiation that target the prostate directly. And they can […]

Men whose PSA levels continue rising even after surgery or radiation therapy may have a new treatment option with the approval of the drug apalutamide.

In the journals

Men with intermediate-risk prostate cancer may benefit more from a shorter duration of hypofractionated radiation therapy (HRT) than from standard radiation therapy. With both types of radiation therapy, the total amount of radiation is given in multiple sessions over a set period. Compared with standard radiation therapy, HRT uses larger doses over a shorter period of time.

A study in the Nov. 4, 2017, European Urology Focus analyzed data of 3,553 men with prostate cancer, 65% of whom had intermediate-risk prostate cancer. The men were randomized to get either a one-month program of HRT or the standard radiation treatment regimen given over two months. After an average of five to six years, the intermediate-risk men who had HRT were less likely than men who got standard radiation therapy to have their prostate cancer return.

A newly approved drug called apalutamide is giving hope to thousands of men confronting a tenacious problem after being treated for prostate cancer. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels should plummet to zero after surgery, and to near zero after radiation therapy, but in some men, they continue rising even when there’s no other evidence of cancer […]