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Latest Prostate Cancer News
Statins May Reduce Risk of Prostate Cancer Recurrence Statin use may reduce the risk of prostate cancer recurrence among men who have undergone a radical prostatectomy. These findings were recently published in the journal Cancer.[1] Statins are cholesterol-lowering drugs; they are the most commonly prescribed class of prescription drugs in the United States. Some studies have suggested that in addition to their cardiovascular effects, statins may provide a prostate cancer benefit. It’s unclear, however, whether statins might prevent prostate cancer, treat prostate cancer, or simply affect PSA levels alone. A study recently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology evaluated whether statin use could reduce the risk of prostate cancer recurrence among men who had received radiation therapy for localized or locally advanced prostate cancer.[2] The results of this study indicated that statin use was associated with a reduced risk of recurrence, as detected by a rise in prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels; a reduced risk of needing additional (or “salvage”) androgen deprivation therapy (ADT); and improved relapse-free survival. The current study evaluated whether or not statin use following treatment of early-stage prostate cancer with radical prostatectomy was associated with a reduced risk of recurrence as detected by a rise in PSA levels. The researchers analyzed database records of 1,319 prostate cancer patients who had undergone a radical prostatectomy. For each patient, their use or nonuse of statins at the time of surgery was determined as well as PSA progression. Of the 1,319 prostate cancer patients analyzed, 236 were taking statins at the time of surgery. PSA progression occurred in 16% of the statin users and 25% of the nonusers. After adjusting the data for clinical factors that impact cancer recurrence risk, the researchers determined that statin use was associated with a 30% lower risk of PSA recurrence. In addition, the lower risk of PSA recurrence was dependent on the statin dose with statin users at the highest doses experiencing the most benefit. The researchers concluded that statin use may slow prostate cancer progression among men who have undergone radical prostatectomy. Further studies are warranted to confirm these results. Reference: [1] Hamilton RJ, Banez LL, Aronson WJ, et al. Statin Medication Use and the Risk of Biochemical Recurrence After Radical Prostatectomy: Results From the Shared Equal Access Regional Cancer Hospital (SEARCH) Database. Cancer [early online publication]. June 28, 2010. [2] Gutt R, Tonlaar N, Kunnavakkam R, et al. Statin use and risk of prostate cancer recurrence in men treated with radiation therapy. Journal of Clinical Oncology [early online publication]. April 26, 2010.
Death from Other Causes Among Men with Early-stage Prostate Cancer (8/26/2010)
Among men with early-stage prostate cancer, assessment of other health problems may help guide prostate cancer treatment decisions; men who are likely to die of causes other than prostate cancer may not benefit from aggressive prostate cancer treatment. These findings were published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Study Evaluates Physician Use of Finasteride for Prostate Cancer Prevention (8/18/2010)
Recent research indicates that 64% of urologists and 80% of primary care physicians surveyed do not prescribe finasteride for prevention of prostate cancer in high-risk men. These findings were recently published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
Provenge® for Hormone-refractory Prostate Cancer (8/11/2010)
Among men with metastatic, hormone-refractory prostate cancer, the immunotherapy agent Provenge® (sipuleucel-T) improves survival by roughly four months. The findings from this Phase III study were recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Study Evaluates Incidence of Lymphedema Resulting from Cancer Treatment (8/9/2010)
A systematic review of 47 studies evaluating treatment for melanoma, head and neck cancer, genitourinary cancers, gynecologic cancers, and sarcoma indicates that lymphedema is a common side effect of treatment for these diseases.
Study Explores Prostate Cancer Among Men with Low PSA Levels (7/30/2010)
In a large U.S. cancer database, 14% of prostate cancer diagnoses occurred among men with a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level of 4.0 ng/mL or lower. More than half of these men had cancer that was considered “low-risk,” but roughly three-quarters were treated aggressively with radical prostatectomy or radiation therapy. These results were published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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