QUEST informs readers of the latest advances in urologic prostate cancer research, especially detection, prevention, and treatment.
In March 2009, the results of two long awaited trials were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.1,2 One said that screening with PSA reduced deaths from prostate cancer by up to 27% and the other claimed it didn’t…
At the end of 2008, the National Cancer Institute published its findings on the incidence of various cancers and cancer-caused deaths with encouraging news regarding most cancers and especially for prostate cancer. The media picked up the drop in incidence…
T he use of ciprofloxacin (Cipro) as a test to see whether an elevated PSA level will decrease is controversial. On one hand, clinical experience has shown that if the PSA decreases to previously low levels, it is possible to…
Two different standards – *Hybritech and WHO (World Health Organization) – exist for measuring PSA levels, and these standards do not produce equivalent results. Having two standards means the same blood sample sent to labs using different test calibrations would…
What is your opinion on using proton radiation therapy as an alternative to surgery for the treatment of prostate cancer? I do not recommend proton beam radiation therapy to my patients. I believe surgery is more effective than any form…
It was a cold late afternoon in January of 2008 when I got the phone call from my doctor: “Epa. I have the report of your prostate biopsy. Why don’t you come to my office? We need to talk”. My…
Frank Bick has good business sense. His successes and experience have helped many a not-for-profit organization. And because of his family’s history with prostate cancer, the Urological Research Foundation has been one of the beneficiaries. Bick has been a URF…
This article is adapted by Cecilia Lacks, PhD, for Quest from two * journal articles on the topic of salvage radiotherapy vs. observation in men who have had a recurrence after a radical prostatectomy as indicated by a detectable and…
With the advent of laparoscopic and robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery, and with the wide-acceptance of laparoscopic gall bladder surgery, the appeal of using the technique in radical prostatectomy has been tempting to patients, with unfortunate results in more patients than with…
Last year, thousands of men got free screenings for prostate cancer at mobile medical vans. But, this screening was more than the standard PSA test. It was a study of an experimental diagnostic tool, pro PSA, that’s supposed to be…
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