Rutgers researchers assess severity of prostate cancers using magnetic resonance imaging

Developments could reduce biopsies, promote ‘watchful waiting’ for low-grade cancers

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Rutgers researchers are developing methods that can accurately assess the severity of prostate cancer by analyzing magnetic resonance images and spectra of a patient’s prostate gland. This may help physicians decide more confidently which patients need aggressive treatment and which are better served by “watchful waiting,” and could even postpone or eliminate invasive biopsies in patients with low-grade tumors.

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Inhibiting prostate cancer without disturbing regular body processes

Researchers explain how a facultative enzyme governs tumor growth

This release is available in French.

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Laser may reduce prostate surgery’s sexual side effects

Pilot study by NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia urologic surgeons reports on technology’s potential

NEW YORK (August 5, 2010) — One of the challenges of prostate cancer surgery is removing the cancer-affected gland without side effects. The procedure is estimated to cause long-term sexual dysfunction in half of men.

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Scientists develop the first model for investigating the origins of testicular cancer in humans

Scientists have developed a model that will enable them to investigate, for the first time, how human testes develop in baby boys while they are in the womb. Until now it has been impossible to study testicular development during pregnancy in humans and this discovery will enable researchers to understand the processes that can lead to the onset of testicular germ cell cancer (TGCC) in young adult life, and how factors, such as common environmental chemicals, might play a role.

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New technique in robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy

August 2010 — Stress urinary incontinence is one of the most feared complications of radical prostatectomy. The weighted mean continence rate immediately after catheter removal following robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP) is 25.7%. Evidently, early recovery of urinary continence remains a challenge to be overcome. The Surgery in Motion section of the September issue of European Urology describes the surgical steps of pubovesical complex (PVC)–sparing RALP and presents the preliminary results of the technique.

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UCLA scientists for the first time identify a cell-of-origin for human prostate cancer

UCLA scientists have identified for the first time a cell-of-origin for human prostate cancer, a discovery that could result in better predictive and diagnostics tools and the development of new and more effective targeted treatments for the disease.

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NYU Langone offers vascular-targeted photodynamic therapy for localized prostate cancer

NYU Langone Medical Center has begun a clinical trial offering vascular-targeted photodynamic therapy to patients with localized prostate cancer. This novel, minimally invasive procedure uses a light-activated drug to deliver light energy waves by way of laser fibers in order to destroy prostate cancer cells.

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Key pathway in end-stage prostate cancer tumor progression blocked

DALLAS – July 22, 2010 – Prostate cancer advances when tumors become resistant to hormone therapy, which is the standard treatment for patients, and begin producing their own androgens.

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that blocking one of the enzymatic steps that allow the tumor to produce androgens could be the key in halting a tumor’s growth.

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How prostate cancer packs a punch

Researchers uncover a mechanism that determines prostate cancer aggressiveness, providing new targets for diagnosis and treatment

LA JOLLA, Calif., July 12, 2010 – Some types of prostate tumors are more aggressive and more likely to metastasize than others. Nearly one-third of these aggressive tumors contain a small nest of especially dangerous cells known as neuroendocrine-type cells. More rarely, some aggressive prostate tumors are made up entirely of neuroendocrine-type cells. The presence of neuroendocrine-type cancer cells is associated with a poor prognosis, but spotting these rare cells can be like finding a needle in a haystack. Now, in a study published in the July 13 issue of Cancer Cell, a team of investigators led by Ze’ev Ronai, Ph.D. at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) has identified a series of proteins that might make it easier for doctors to better diagnose the more metastatic forms of prostate cancer.

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New target for treatment of advanced prostate cancer identified by UNC team

Chapel Hill, NC – In its early stages, prostate cancer requires androgens (hormones that promote the development and maintenance of male sex characteristics) for growth, and current first-line therapies target the receptor for these hormones to slow cancer’s development and spread.

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