General Prostate Cancer News

PCRI is pleased to provide general prostate cancer news items courtesy of CancerConsultants.com Inc. whose mission is “to empower patients with current information on all aspects of the management of Prostate Cancer in order to provide support and hope, as well as to facilitate informed decisions”.

---

Prostate Cancer and the Increased Risk of Blood Clots

Men with prostate cancer are at a higher risk for several types of thromboembolic diseases (blood clots), with men undergoing endocrine therapy having the highest risk, according to the results of a study published in the Lancet Oncology.[1] 

In general, cancer is considered a risk factor for thromboembolic disease. In fact, cancer patients are considered four times more likely to develop a blood clot than individuals without cancer.[2] Prostate cancer appears to be associated with a higher number of blood clot events, even though it is not considered one of the highest-risk cancers for clots.

Researchers in Sweden performed an analysis of data from 76,600 men with prostate cancer from the Swedish National Prostate Cancer Register. The men were treated with primary endocrine therapy (30,642), curative treatment (26,432), or surveillance (19,526). The data revealed 1,881 thromboembolic events. In all three treatment groups, there was an increased risk for deep-venous thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism but not arterial embolism. Men receiving endocrine therapy had the highest risk of DVT, though this risk was smaller among men treated with anti-androgens than among those treated with other types of endocrine treatment.

The underlying reasons for the increased risk of clots are unclear. They could be related to the prostate cancer, the treatment, or some other underlying cause. The researchers suggest that physicians should consider the potential for blood clots when treating patients for prostate cancer, especially if they are using endocrine treatment.

References:

---

[1] Van Hemelrijck M, Adolfsson J, Garmo H, et al. Risk of thromboembolic diseases in men with prostate cancer: Results from the population-based PCBaSe Sweden. Lancet Oncology [early online publication]. April 14, 2010. [2] Heit JA, Silverstein MD, Mohr DN, et al. Risk factors for deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism: A population-based case-control study. Archives of Internal Medicine. 2000; 160: 809-815.

Latest Prostate Cancer News

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.

Prostate Cancer News Archives »

Copyright ©2005 CancerConsultants.com. All Rights Reserved.

General Prostate Cancer News Archives
 

Prostate Cancer Research Institute (PCRI)
 

Material provided by PCRI is intended for educational purposes for discussion with your physician and should not be considered as medical advice. Information and opinions expressed on this website are not an endorsement by PCRI for any treatment, product or service.