Risk Factors You Can Control
Diet seems to play a role in the development of prostate cancer, which is much more common in countries where meat and high-fat dairy are mainstays. The reason for this link is unclear. Dietary fat, particularly animal fat from red meat, may boost male hormone levels. And this may fuel the growth of cancerous prostate cells. A diet too low in fruits and vegetables may also play a role.
Genetic Changes Linked To Drug Resistance
Analysing the DNA from the blood tests, the researchers also found specific genetic changes associated with drug resistance which indicate that men are at risk of early relapse. They detected mutations in the well-known cancer genes, p53, PTEN and PI3K/AKT.
The ICR a charity and research institute is focused on understanding and combating cancer evolution and drug resistance. It has £2 million still to raise for a new Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery, which will open later this year and will house an ambitious Darwinian drug discovery programme.
Next, the team at the ICR and The Royal Marsden is planning to incorporate liquid biopsies into other clinical trials to assess their benefit in predicting mens response to treatment.
What Is The Psa Test
Prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, is a protein produced by normal, as well as malignant, cells of the prostate gland. The PSA test measures the level of PSA in the blood. For this test, a blood sample is sent to a laboratory for analysis. The results are usually reported as nanograms of PSA per milliliter of blood.
The blood level of PSA is often elevated in people with prostate cancer, and the PSA test was originally approved by the FDA in 1986 to monitor the progression of prostate cancer in men who had already been diagnosed with the disease. In 1994, FDA approved the PSA test to be used in conjunction with a digital rectal exam to aid in the detection of prostate cancer in men 50 years and older. Until about 2008, many doctors and professional organizations had encouraged yearly PSA screening for prostate cancer beginning at age 50.
PSA testing is also often used by health care providers for individuals who report prostate symptoms to help determine the nature of the problem.
In addition to prostate cancer, several benign conditions can cause a persons PSA level to rise, particularly prostatitis and benign prostatic hyperplasia . There is no evidence that either condition leads to prostate cancer, but someone can have one or both of these conditions and develop prostate cancer as well.
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Prostate Cancer Is A Disease In Which Malignant Cells Form In The Tissues Of The Prostate
The prostate is agland in the malereproductive system. It lies just below the bladder and in front of the rectum . It is about the size of a walnut and surrounds part of the urethra . The prostate gland makes fluid that is part of the .
Prostate cancer is most common in older men. In the U.S., about 1 out of 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Treatment For Loss Of Appetite And Weight Loss
You might not feel like eating and may lose weight. It is important to eat as much as you can.
Tips
- Eating several small meals and snacks throughout the day can be easier to manage.
- Ask your doctor to recommend high calorie drinks to sip between treatments if you are worried about losing weight.
- Eat whatever you feel like eating rather than what you think you should eat.
- Make up calories between treatments for the days when you really dont feel like eating.
- Drink plenty of fluids even if you can’t eat.
- Don’t fill your stomach with a large amount of liquid before eating.
- Try to eat high calorie foods to keep your weight up.
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Immunotherapy For Prostate Cancer
Immunotherapy for prostate cancer works by helping a patients own immune system fight back against cancer cells. One immune therapy that has been approved by the FDA is a vaccine called sipuleucel-T , which spurs a patients immune system to attack prostate cancer cells. The vaccine is tailored to match each patients own immune system using the following process:
While sipuleucel-T does not appear to reduce PSA levels or stop prostate cancer growth, it may increase survival in patients with metastatic castration-resistant cancer who show few or no symptoms.
Common side effects of the vaccine include fever, fatigue, chills, back and joint pain, headache and nausea. They are associated with the infusion period and usually only last for a few days.
Stages Types And Grades Of Prostate Cancer
The tests and scans you have to diagnose prostate cancer give information about:
- the type of cell the cancer started in and where it began
- how abnormal the cells look under the microscope
- the size of the cancer and whether it has spread
In the UK, doctors use the Grade Groups or Gleason score to grade prostate cancer. Doctors now use the Grade Groups and other information to divide prostate cancer into 5 groups. This is called the Cambridge Prognostic Group .
You might also be told about the TNM stage, or you may see this on your pathology report. Another way doctors may describe your cancer is as localised, locally advanced and metastatic prostate cancer.
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A New Era For Precision Medicine
While the novel blood test requires further testing in a larger group of patients, researchers believe that it could pave the way for a new era of precision medicine for prostate cancer.
From these findings, we were able to develop a powerful, three-in-one test that could in future be used to help doctors select treatment, check whether it is working and monitor the cancer in the longer term, says Prof. de Bono.
We think it could be used to make clinical decisions about whether a PARP inhibitor is working within as little as 4 to 8 weeks of starting therapy.
Prof. Johann de Bono
Not only could the test have a major impact on treatment of prostate cancer, but it could also be adapted to open up the possibility of precision medicine to patients with other types of cancer as well, he adds.
The Right Way To Do It
For immunotherapies to deliver the greatest value, they will need to be targeted to the right people. Prostate is going to be an immunologically responsive disease, says Haas. We just need to better divide the patient populations. This sort of personalization is already common in treatment of breast, kidney and skin cancers, but is lagging in prostate cancer.
Drake, however, thinks that it shouldnt be necessary to limit treatments to small groups of people whose tumours fit a narrow set of criteria. We dont select patients for chemo for prostate cancer it just works, he says. If we had an effective combination regimen with immunotherapy, we could probably help the majority of patients.
There is growing consensus that the timing of an immunological intervention could be crucial. Most immunotherapy approaches have been taken in patients with quite advanced disease, says Haas. But the longer a cancer fights off a patients immune system, the more entrenched it can become. In advanced tumours, there arent a lot of T cells, says McNeel. Maybe weve been targeting the wrong stage of the disease. He suggests that it might be better to deploy immunotherapy immediately after surgery or radiation therapy, to prevent the disease coming back. There are also hints that radiotherapy might prime the immune system, perhaps by cracking open cancer cells and inducing an immune response.
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What Happens To Corpses Donated To Science
When you donate your body to science, there is no casket, embalming or any funeral expenses in the traditional sense. There are charges to move the body from the place of death to the medical school, to file the death certificate, to notify social security and to assist the family with scheduling any memorial services.
What Happens After Blood Donation
Your blood donation will be taken to a laboratory and will be tested for several things the first is blood type. The different blood types are: A, B, AB, and O. All blood types are eligible for blood donation.
Your blood will also be tested for any potential infections such as:
If your blood is positive to any of the above diseases, you will be notified by the donation center, and your blood will not be able to be used for donation.
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What Will I Learn By Reading This
When you have chemotherapy to control your prostate cancer, you may have side effects or unwanted changes in your body. Side effects are different from person to person, and may be different from one treatment to the next. Some people have no or very mild side effects. The good news is that there are ways to deal with most of the side effects. You will learn:
- Why chemotherapy can cause anemia
- How to know if you may have anemia
- How your doctor will treat your anemia
- Things you can do to help manage your anemia
- When to call your doctor
It is important for you to learn how to manage the side effects you may have from chemotherapy so that you can keep doing as many of your normal activities as possible.
Your blood is made up of three kinds of blood cells:
- White blood cells help you fight infections.
- Platelets help your body stop bleeding when you cut yourself.
- Red blood cells carry oxygen from your lungs throughout your body.
Anemia is when you do not have enough red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout your body. Your body needs fuel to run, just like a car. The oxygen your red blood cells carry is the fuel your body needs to stay active.
What Have I Learned By Reading This
You learned about:
- Why chemotherapy can cause anemia
- How to know if you may have anemia
- How your doctor will treat your anemia
- Things you can do to help manage your anemia
- When to call your doctor
If you have any questions, please talk to your doctor or health care team. It is important that you understand what is going on with your prostate cancer treatment. This knowledge will help you take better care of yourself and feel more in control so that you can get the most from your treatment.
- Anemia: when you do not have enough red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout your body.
- Anticancer: medicines used in the treatment of cancer.
- Blood transfusion: when you get blood donated by another person.
- Chemotherapy : a prostate cancer treatment, which treats your whole body with powerful anticancer medicines to kill many of your prostate cancer cells.
- Fatigue: mental or physical tiredness.
- I.V. or intravenous : a plastic tube going into a vein in your arm, which gives you any fluids or medicine, you might need.
- Platelets: cells in your blood that help stop bleeding.
- Red Blood Cells: cells in your blood that carry oxygen from your lungs throughout your body.
- Respiration: how quickly you are breathing.
- Side Effects: unwanted changes in your body caused by your prostate cancer treatment.
- Unit: a pint of blood given to you during a blood transfusion.
- White Blood Cells: cells in your blood that help you fight infection.
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Considering Complementary And Alternative Methods
You may hear about alternative or complementary methods that your doctor hasnt mentioned to treat your cancer or relieve symptoms. These methods can include vitamins, herbs, and special diets, or other methods such as acupuncture or massage, to name a few.
Complementary methods refer to treatments that are used along with your regular medical care. Alternative treatments are used instead of a doctors medical treatment. Although some of these methods might be helpful in relieving symptoms or helping you feel better, many have not been proven to work. Some might even be harmful.
Be sure to talk to your cancer care team about any method you are thinking about using. They can help you learn what is known about the method, which can help you make an informed decision.
Can Prostate Cancer Be Found Early
Screening tests are available to find prostate cancer early, but government guidelines don’t call for routine testing in men at any age. The tests may find cancers that are so slow-growing that medical treatments would offer no benefit. And the treatments themselves can have serious side effects. The American Cancer Society advises men to talk with a doctor about screening tests, beginning at:
- Age 50 for average-risk men who expect to live at least 10 more years
- Age 45 for men at high risk this includes African-Americans and those with a father, brother, or son diagnosed before age 65
- Age 40 for men with more than one first-degree relative diagnosed at an early age
The U.S.Preventive Services Task Force says that testing may be appropriate for some men age 55 â 69. They recommend that men talk to their doctor to discuss the potential risks and benefits of being tested.
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Side Effects Of Prostate Radiation
Side effects of prostate radiation is an important topic, which many doctors and their patients have to discuss before proceeding to the procedure further on. In most cases, radiation treatment for prostate cancer has the same side effects as brachytherapy . But its important to keep in mind that every person will have different side effects from the same procedure and health in general.
Proton Beam Radiation Therapy
Proton beam therapy focuses beams of protons instead of x-rays on the cancer. Unlike x-rays, which release energy both before and after they hit their target, protons cause little damage to tissues they pass through and release their energy only after traveling a certain distance. This means that proton beam radiation can, in theory, deliver more radiation to the prostate while doing less damage to nearby normal tissues. Proton beam radiation can be aimed with techniques similar to 3D-CRT and IMRT.
Although in theory proton beam therapy might be more effective than using x-rays, so far studies have not shown if this is true. Right now, proton beam therapy is not widely available. The machines needed to make protons are very expensive, and they arent available in many centers in the United States. Proton beam radiation might not be covered by all insurance companies at this time.
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Thinking About Taking Part In A Clinical Trial
Clinical trials are carefully controlled research studies that are done to get a closer look at promising new treatments or procedures. Clinical trials are one way to get state-of-the art cancer treatment. In some cases they may be the only way to get access to newer treatments. They are also the best way for doctors to learn better methods to treat cancer. Still, they’re not right for everyone.
If you would like to learn more about clinical trials that might be right for you, start by asking your doctor if your clinic or hospital conducts clinical trials.
Who Is At Risk
Risk factors include age, family history and race. The most common age is around 50 or older.
If you have a blood relative who has or has had prostate cancer or a family history of genes that increase the risk of breast cancer BRCA1 or BRCA2 or a strong family history of breast cancer, your risk of prostate cancer may be higher. In the U.S., prostate cancer is deadlier for Black men than men of other races, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They are more likely to get prostate cancer and more than twice as likely to die from prostate cancer than other men.
“Early detection is very important. If we can find prostate cancer early, it is treatable and curable, ” says Dr. Vargas.
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How Is Hematuria Treated
The treatment will depend on the cause. Infections are likely treated with antibiotics. Prescription medications may be used for particularly painful kidney stones, or they may be broken down using extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy . An enlarged prostate could be treated using alpha blockers, or surgery depending on the severity.
Methods to prevent and avoid future issues with urine in the blood include drinking plenty of water, urinate immediately after sex, practice good hygiene and stop smoking. Some dietary changes can help such as reduced salt intake limiting certain foods like spinach and rhubarb.
So if youre dealing with blood in your urine make an appointment to let the doctors at Urology Center of Florida give you the treatment you need.
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