What’s New In Prostate Cancer Research?€¦ · What’s New In Prostate Cancer Research?...

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What’s New In Prostate Cancer Research?

Researchintothecauses,prevention,detection,andtreatmentofprostatecancerisongoinginmanymedicalcentersthroughouttheworld.

GeneticsNewresearchongenechangeslinkedtoprostatecancerishelpingscientistsbetterunderstandhowprostatecancerdevelops.Thiscouldmakeitpossibletodesignmedicinestotargetthosechanges.Teststofindabnormalprostatecancergenescouldalsohelpidentifymenathighriskwhomightbenefitfromscreeningorfromchemopreventiontrials,whichusedrugstotrytokeepthemfromgettingcancer.PreventionResearcherscontinuetolookforfoodsthatcanhelplowerprostatecancerrisk.Scientistshavefoundsomesubstancesintomatoes(lycopenes)andsoybeans(isoflavones)thatmighthelppreventprostatecancer.Studiesarenowlookingatthepossibleeffectsofthesecompoundsmoreclosely.Manypeopleassumethatvitaminsandothernaturalsubstancesaresafetotake,butrecentresearchhasshownthathighdosesofsomemaybeharmful.Forexample,onestudyfoundthatmenwhotakemorethan7multivitamintabletsperweekmayhaveanincreasedriskofdevelopingadvancedprostatecancer.Anotherstudyshowedahigherriskofprostatecancerinmenwhohadhighbloodlevelsofomega-3fattyacids.Fishoilcapsules,whichsomepeopletaketohelpwiththeirheart,containlargeamountsofomega-3fattyacids.

DiagnosisAnewerapproachistomeasurebloodflowwithintheglandusingatechniquecalledcolorDopplerultrasound.(Tumorsoftenhavemorebloodvesselsaroundthemthannormaltissue.)Itmaymakeprostatebiopsiesmoreaccuratebyhelpingtoensuretherightpartoftheglandissampled.AnevennewertechniquemayenhancecolorDopplerfurther.Inthisapproach,thepatientisfirstinjectedwithacontrastagentcontainingmicrobubbles,whichhelpsimprovetheultrasoundimages.Promisingresultshavebeenreported,butmorestudieswillbeneededbeforeitsusebecomescommon.StagingAnewermethodknownasmultiparametricMRIcanbeusedtohelpdeterminetheextentofthecancerandhowaggressiveitmightbe,whichmightaffectaman’streatmentoptions.Anothernewermethod,calledenhancedMRI,mayhelpfindlymphnodesthatcontaincancercells.PatientsfirsthaveastandardMRI.Theyaretheninjectedwithtinymagneticparticlesandhaveanotherscanthenextday.Learnmoreat:https://www.cancer.org/cancer/prostate-cancer/about/new-research.html