Warning Signs of an Enlarged Prostate

As men age, the prostate gland often begins to swell -- which can cause uncomfortable symptoms. Men who have symptoms of an enlarged prostate should seek prompt medical treatment.

The U.S. National Library of Medicine says more than half of men with an enlarged prostate don't have any symptoms. But if symptoms are present, they may include:

• Urination that starts slowly and continues in a weak stream.
• Urination that becomes difficult, if not nearly impossible.
• The need to urinate suddenly, urgently and frequently -- at least twice nightly.
• Feeling like your bladder has not been completely emptied.
• The inability to control the flow of urine, or dribbling after urinating.
• Pain or bleeding during urination.

Men who live alone fall short on prostate screening

Men at higher-than-average risk of prostate cancer are more likely to seek regular screening if they are married or live with a significant other, a new study finds.

Researchers found that among more than 2,400 men ages 40 to 79, those with a family history of prostate cancer were more likely to be regularly screened for the disease over a decade. However, a closer look at the data showed that this was only true of men who lived with a wife or partner.

In fact, higher-risk men who lived alone were less apt to seek screening than those with no family history of prostate cancer.

The American Cancer Society recommends that men with a family history of prostate cancer get screened for the disease starting at age 45. However, some studies have found that these men are no more likely to seek screening than those without a family history.

These latest findings, published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, suggest that partners play a big role in getting men to submit to prostate cancer screening.

"In terms of motivating people to get screened, there may be benefit in targeting wives or significant others as well as men," lead researcher Lauren P. Wallner, of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, noted in a written statement.

The results are based on 2,447 white U.S. men who were taking part in a long-term men's health study. The researchers used medical records to find out how frequently the men sought prostate cancer screening over roughly a decade; screening included digital rectal examinations and blood tests for prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a protein that can signal prostate cancer.

In general, Wallner's team found, men with a family history of prostate cancer were 40 percent more likely than those without such a history to frequently seek screening. But when the researchers considered marital status, they found that family history was a motivator only for married or co-habitating men.

On the other hand, men who said they were "worried or concerned" about developing prostate cancer had higher rates of frequent screening regardless of their marital status.

The findings, the researchers write, "provide insight as to how to better promote the benefits of early detection among high-risk men."

Still, they add, more research is needed to see what factors other than marital status motivate men to get screened.

Study Looks At Association Between Sexual Orientation, Race/Ethnicity And Prostate, Colon Cancer Screening Rates

The study, led by Kevin Heslin, an assistant professor at the Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science, examines prostate and colorectal cancer screening rates based on sexual orientation and race and ethnicity. Researchers analyzed data on 19,410 men who participated in a statewide health survey. Researchers looked at the use of prostate-specific antigen testing among gay/bisexual and heterosexual men and found no significant differences.

However, the percentage of black gay/bisexual men who had undergone the test was 15% to 28% lower than gay/bisexual whites and 12% to 14% lower than heterosexual black men. The finding is significant because black men are more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than any other racial or ethnic group. The study suggests that further research be conducted to examine racial and ethnic differences in cancer testing.

Cough Medicine Ingredient Could Effectively Treat Prostate Cancer

Researchers found that noscapine, which has been used in cough medication for nearly 50 years, reduced tumor growth in mice by 60% and limited the spread of tumors by 65% without causing harmful side effects.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in the United States. The American Cancer Society estimates that 186,320 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2008 and 28,660 will die from it. One man in 6 will get prostate cancer during his lifetime. Although slow-growing in most men, the cancer is considered advanced when it spreads beyond the prostate. There is no known cure.

Noscapine is a naturally-occurring substance, a non-addictive derivative of opium. As a natural substance, noscapine cannot be patented, which has limited the potential for clinical trials. Rogosnitzky notes that drug companies are generally unwilling to underwrite expensive clinical trials without being able to recoup their investment. A synthetic derivative of noscapine has been patented but has not yet reached the clinical testing phase.

Hormone therapy and chemotherapy, along with radiation and surgery, are currently used to slow the progression of advanced prostate cancer. Side effects resulting from these treatments include impotence, incontinence, fatigue, anemia, brittle bones, hair loss, reduced appetite, nausea and diarrhea. No toxic side effects were observed in the laboratory study of noscapine.

Single Men Less Likely to Get Prostate Screens

Married men and men living with a significant other are more prone to get early screening for prostate cancer, a new study says.

The study found that even men with a family history of prostate cancer were 40 percent less likely to be screened if they lived alone compared to those who were married or shared a home with a significant other. The study, however, did not examine why this is so.

"In terms of motivating people to get screened, there may be benefit in targeting wives or significant others as well as men," lead author Lauren P. Wallner, a graduate research associate at the University of Michigan, said in an American Association for Cancer Research news release.

Men with wives, significant others more likely to be screened for prostate cancer

Although the link between early screening and prostate cancer survival is well established, men are less likely to go for early screening unless they have a wife or significant other living with them, according to a study.

"In terms of motivating people to get screened, there may be benefit in targeting wives or significant others as well as men," said lead author Lauren P. Wallner, M.P.H., a graduate research associate at the University of Michigan.

Wallner and colleagues identified 2,447 Caucasian men ages 40 years to 79 years from Olmstead County, Minnesota. These men completed questionnaires containing queries on family history of prostate cancer, concern about getting prostate cancer and marital status. If men had a family history of prostate cancer, they were 50 percent more likely to be screened. If men said they were worried about prostate cancer, they were nearly twice as likely to be screened.

However, the likelihood among men with a family history to get screened decreased if they lived alone. Specifically, men who lived alone were 40 percent less likely to be screened than those who were married or had a significant other in their home. Wallner said the study did not assess what caused a married man to be more likely to be screened. She also said that further studies would need to examine this effect in non-Caucasian populations.

Overweight May Skew PSA Prostate Cancer Test

A recent study showed how being overweight can affect your PSA levels, rendering the standard PSA test protocols for diagnosing prostate cancer inaccurate.

The extra blood volume produced in the obese may so dilute levels of a tell-tale protein produced by the prostate gland that the popular PSA test may be SIGNIFICANTLY LESS EFFECTIVE for diagnosing prostate cancer in men carrying extra pounds.

The new findings could eventually also affect the reliability of scores regarding other blood tests for cancer and other diseases in obese people, or at least alter the way those tests are analyzed, investigators say.

The predictive value of the PSA test depends on accurate readings of a protein, (P)rostate (S)pecific (A)ntigen continually produced by the prostate. When the prostate is enlarged - due to cancer or other disorders - the concentration of PSA in the bloodstream can increase, signaling the possible presence of cancer.

Physicians thus commonly regard increased PSA values as a first marker to diagnose prostate cancer, to be followed by other diagnostic tests such as physical exams and a transrectal ultrasound.

Complicating the diagnosis of prostate cancer further, the researchers note, is the fact that both physical exams and imaging studies of the prostate are more difficult in obese men.

Although recent studies have shown that PSA concentrations can be lower than expected in obese men with prostate cancer, the current research was designed to determine which of two dueling hypotheses explained this, notes Alan Partin, M.D., chief of the Department of Urology at Johns Hopkins' Brady Urological Institute.

One idea was based on the possibility that obese men make less PSA because they tend to have less testosterone, the sex hormone that prompts PSA production.

The other theory attributed the phenomenon to the increased amount of blood volume that obese men produce to support their size, which has the effect of thinning out the concentration of PSA.

2008 Prostate Cancer Retreat Available Online - Prostate Cancer Foundation

The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) has made presentations from its 2008 Scientific Retreat available online. The PCF's annual retreat provides a forum to review advances in prostate cancer research aimed at reducing death and suffering from this prevalent men's disease. The three-day event was held in October at Incline Village, Nevada, and was attended by 293 of the world's leading physicians and scientists engaged in prostate cancer research.

The presentations, accompanied by presenter voiceovers, can be reviewed by going to: http://www.prostatecancerfoundation.org/scientificretreat. Free Adobe™ Flash and Adobe Reader™ downloads are provided on the site.

"The Prostate Cancer Foundation's Annual Scientific Retreat is a unique conference. It provides a collaborative environment to share new data that might accelerate solutions for prostate cancer," explained Dr. Howard Soule, executive vice president and chief scientist for the Prostate Cancer Foundation. "It is the most sought-after invitation in the world for prostate cancer scientists. Each year we receive more requests for an invitation than we can accommodate.

"We are pleased to make the meeting presentations available to a broader audience and hope that this online distribution will support our mission to accelerate scientific exchange, discovery and development," added Soule.

About the Prostate Cancer Foundation

The Prostate Cancer Foundation is the world's largest philanthropic source of support for prostate cancer research focused on discovering better treatments and a cure for recurrent prostate cancer. Founded in 1993, the PCF has raised more than $370 million and provided funding to more than 1,500 researchers at nearly 200 institutions worldwide. The PCF also advocates for greater awareness of prostate cancer and more governmental resources, resulting in a 20-fold increase in government funding for prostate cancer. More information about the PCF can be found at http://www.pcf.org.

Prostate Cancer Foundation

Symptoms of Prostate Gland Enlargement

We should always be aware... just to be sure.

Prostate gland enlargement varies in severity among men and doesn't always pose a problem. Only about half the men with prostate gland enlargement experience signs and symptoms that become noticeable or bothersome enough for them to seek medical treatment. These signs and symptoms may include:

• Weak urine stream
• Difficulty starting urination
• Stopping and starting while urinating
• Dribbling at the end of urination
• Straining while urinating
• Frequent need to urinate
• Increased frequency of urination at night (nocturia)
• Urgent need to urinate
• Not being able to completely empty the bladder
• Blood in the urine (hematuria)
• Urinary tract infection

Prostate Cancer Spurs New Nerves

Prostate cancer – and perhaps other cancers – promotes the growth of new nerves and the branching axons that carry their messages, a finding associated with more aggressive tumors, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in the first report of the phenomenon that appears today in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.

Previous research showed that prostate cancer follows the growth of nerves, but this is the first time that scientists have demonstrated that the tumors actually promote nerve growth.

"This is the first report of this phenomenon," said Dr. Gustavo Ayala, professor of pathology and urology at BCM and first author of the article. "It represents an important new target in prostate cancer treatment, as prostate cancers are more aggressive when neurogenesis is present."

Ayala noted that this finding is comparable to the discovery of angiogenesis or the growth of new blood vessels. Both are part of the wound repair process.

"We also believe that axongenesis and neurogenesis is found not only in prostate cancer, but is potentially a more global phenomenon, particularly relating to those cancers that grow along nerve paths," said Ayala, also a researcher in the Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center at BCM.

Ayala and his colleagues studied the neurogenesis in tissue culture, in human tissues of patients who had had prostate cancer and compared to prostate tissues from patients who had died of other ailments. They calculated the density of nerves in human prostate tissues, including those with prostate cancer. They found that nerve density was considerably higher in patients with prostate cancer and in precancerous lesions. As part of the study, he used an entire prostate gland to reconstruct the prostate and enable scientists to see the growth of nerves and axons in three-dimensions, a computerized process that took substantial continuous computer processing.

He and his colleagues have even identified a possible method of regulating the growth of new nerves and axons through a protein called semaphorin 4F. Semaphorins are embryologically active molecules that regulate nerve growth and direction. Most disappear in adults, but semaphoring 4F is active in wound repair. When prostate cancer cells overproduce semaphorin 4F, new nerves result. Blocking semaphoring 4F prevents the growth of new nerves.