Testing It Up

According to U.S. researchers a virus that has been found to cause leukemia and tumors in animals may play a part in prostate cancer in humans. Xenotropic murin leukemia virus related virus (also known as XMRV) was found in about 27% of prostate cancer cases( 233 active cases and 101 benign controls were studied), especially those with particularly aggressive tumors. It’s hoped that these findings could help with the development of a new vaccine or more effective treatment method based on the link.

Viruses like HPV have been found to cause certain cancers in recent years, making it possible for drug makers to develop vaccines to inoculate against the virus and thus prevent cancer.   If these findings prove to be true it could help vaccines and preventative medicines to reduce and in time perhaps eliminate some forms of cancer.

Prostate cancer kills 254,000 men a year and is the second most deadly form of cancer in men worldwide.

XMRV is a retrovirus which means that it introduces it’s genetic map into the framework of any cells it contaminates. This in turn either kills or makes the cell cancerous. If the way it infects the human body can be found and prevented some forms of prostate cancer could be averted.

You probably have heard that there are at home testing kits that can test for cancer. These kits test for prostate cancer, a common cancer in older men.  At home testing kits can signal that there is something wrong with the PSA levels in the urine which can be a precursor to prostate cancer. The at home test kits do not diagnose cancer nor do elevated levels of PSA mean that you have cancer.

Many men who are concerned with their prostate health prefer to test their PSA levels at home, especially if they are on medication for prostate health. Because elevated PSA levels are common in older men and are often controlled with medication, many men seek to see if the medication is working to control the levels by using at home prostate cancer testing kits.

At home prostate cancer tests are made to help those who are concerned with prostate health and only measure PSA levels. They are not meant as a way to diagnose cancer. As prostate cancer is very treatable when caught early, testing PSA levels at home can help some men catch a problem before it becomes a life threatening disease.

Researchers have found a compound which destroys certain stem cells that are thought to cause recurrence in cancer after treatment. There is already a large collection of research which proves these stem cells play a part in rebuilding cancer after treatment is thought to have killed the initial tumor.  The stronger tumors associated with these stem cells include those caused by cancers such as breast, lung and prostate cancers among others.

Studying these cells has been a problem however, because they don’t grow as well outside of the human body.  Through a process called epithelial-to-mesynchymal transition researchers of this study were able to produce and test stem cells against thousands of chemical compounds that have been effective against breast cancer. Salinomycin, the compound in question, destroyed lab generated and naturally occurring cancer stem cells, reducing them by a 100 fold and breast tumor re-growth in the mice tested. More research will need to be done before the effects of the compound can be confirmed as effective for humans as they have been for the mice. It’s also hoped that the reason why the chemical is effective can be resolved during further study.

Early signs of what may be prostate cancer can be detected through at home testing kits. These kits can test the PSA levels in the urine of men who may be at risk for prostate cancer.

It is important for men to know that while the home cancer test cannot diagnose the disease, it can serve as a warning if you are on the verge of having prostate cancer. There are medications, based upon the stages of prostate cancer that can be used to maintain a healthy prostate. It is also important for men to know that having high levels of PSA is not always an indicator of prostate cancer. It is the sign of an enlarged prostate from which most men, as they get older, suffer from.

Someone who is concerned about prostate health or who has a family history of prostate cancer can use an at home test to check their PSA levels. These at home testing kits can also be used to check PSA levels for men who are on medication to maintain a healthy prostate as well.

Last week, we did a couple of features with suggested tests that women should proactively undergo. This time around, we bring you the tests that men might want to think of subjecting themselves to. Unfortunately, this might mean that the wife, the girlfriend, the grown daughter or any significant woman in a man’s life might need to prod and nag, and even drag him to the doctor’s office for a check-up.

In a previous post, we already discussed at length how men seem to shy away from doctor’s offices, unless, of course, he is in the medical industry. That being said, though, we do understand that just as women have to don various hats, men have a lot of concerns going on in their lives; between the pressures of a career and amply providing for a family during these trying times, the last thing on a man’s mind will probably be a trip to the doctor’s office. When one is focused on the next mortgage payment, one will tend to ignore a little chest pain or two.

A buddy of mine actually ended up getting a triple bypass, and he is literally lucky to still be able to play all the golf he wants after ignoring chest pains that lasted over a week. And yes, it was his wife who dragged him to the ER after he felt funny while in the middle of a birthday party.

You will probably find the some of the recommended tests on this list rather familiar, as they are tests that we also had on the list we posted for women.

Before we begin, though, it may be good to suggest that a man who has decided to take charge of his own health should first find a doctor that he is comfortable in and has developed a good relationship with. Barring that, one will probably end up postponing this trip indefinitely; having a doctor whom you trust will make this process a whole lot easier.

A run through of these tests are as follows: Blood Pressure, Cholesterol tests, blood sugar testing to test for diabetes, colonoscopy, prostate cancer and testicular cancer screening and skin exams. We will discuss these tests in m ore detail in succeeding posts.

Cancer does not recognize famous men or world leaders. It strikes as it wishes, and here are a few prominent leaders who had to face the battle against the most common cancer in men — prostate cancer.

Nelson Mandela. Former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela was diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer in 2001. A few years after, he announced his retirement as a public figure to allow more time with his family. He still appears in a few public events, although not as frequent as before. He remains to be a respected leader, having received more than 100 awards including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

John Kerry. We, of course, all know US Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts. He ran for President during the 2004 elections against former President George W. Bush. He was diagnosed with and successfully treated for prostate cancer in 2003.

Jesse Alexander Helms, Jr.† It has been reported that five-term US Senator Jesse Helms from North Carolina decided not to run for a sixth term due to health problems. Aside from prostate cancer, he had heart disease and bone disorders. He died of multi-infarct dementia almost a year ago.

Louis Farrakhan. Supreme Minister and National Representative of the Nation of Islam and Elijah Muhammad Louis Farrakhan underwent a major abdominal surgery in 2007 to correct the side effects of a procedure for prostate cancer he had years earlier.

Rudolph William Louis Giuliani. Rudy Giuliani was Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He was named ‘Person of the Year’ for 2001 by Time Magazine; this is the same year when the World Trade Center was attacked. He ran for Senator in 2000, but withdrew his candidacy due to being diagnosed with prostate cancer.

In observance of the National Men’s Health Week, we shared several points about men’s health, including breast cancer in men and testicular cancer. For today, let us talk about the most common cancer affecting men – prostate cancer.

Although this is rather rare in men under 50 years old, prostate cancer remains to be the leading cancer affecting men in the Western world. Unlike most other cancers, prostate cancer develops slowly and does not exhibit any symptom until it has reached a certain stage. It is thus important that men undergo early detection tests to determine the disease before it progresses.

Diagnostic tests for prostate cancer includes rectal examination, PSA blood test, biopsy and bone scan. Your doctor will most probably use a combination of these tests to get a more conclusive result.

Aside from age, men should also watch for other known risk factors, like family history, race and environment. Men with a father or a brother who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer are more likely to suffer from the disease as well. African-American men display the highest tendency to develop prostate cancer while Asian men exhibit lower rates. Obesity, high fat diet and exposure to radioactivity are believed to also have effects on the development of prostate cancer.

As previously mentioned, prostate cancer symptoms do not reveal themselves until the cancer has already progressed. In some cases, patients do not feel any symptom at all. However, it is still important to know these symptoms and to watch out for them. Symptoms may include frequent urination, difficulty in urination (whether starting or stopping it), painful urination, painful ejaculation, blood in urine or semen, and stiffness in the lower back, hips or pelvis.

Two of the country’s leading groups of experts in prostate cancer seem to be at opposing ends when it comes to the issue of prostate cancer screening.

The American Urological Association released a revised set of guidelines for men with an average risk of prostate cancer. The new guidelines now call for baseline PSA blood testing for this group to start at age 40, with succeeding testing to be determined on a case to case basis. This sets baseline PSA blood testing a decade earlier than originally recommended; the old guidelines used to set recommended testing age at 50.

WebMD quoted Peter Carroll, MD, a urologist who served as the chairperson for the committee that revised the guidelines, said that the change was in recognition of the fact that “an abnormal PSA at a young age” is strongly indicative of future prostate cancer risk. He adds further that prostate cancer testing should be a procedure that men of any age can choose to undergo, along with the recommendation of his physician or urologist.

This is the opposite of the recommendation of the American Cancer Society, who no longer recommends routine PSA screening for men. What they now encourage doctors and their patients to do is to carefully weigh the potential benefits of undergoing testing versus the risks before deciding on a course of action. This is the result of recent studies regarding prostate cancer testing that indicated that screening had no positive effect as far as saving lives is concerned, and may even do more harm than good.

The ACS thinks that the new guidelines from the AUA may lead to more screening and, eventually, overtreatment of men who will not benefit from the procedures. The same sentiment was shared by a scientist from the National Cancer Institute according to WebMD. Barnett Kramer, MD, MPH, shared that the revised guidelines seems to ignore the “latest and best research” on the issue.

A study to comply with the Food and Drug Administration’s request for additional information on the effects of the experimental prostate cancer treatment vaccine Provenge has been completed. Seattle-based biotech company Dendreon Corporation, developer of Provenge, has revealed that the trials yielded promising results, which may seal the deal towards FDA approval.

Provenge is a drug administered by infusion to patients suffering from advanced stages of prostate cancer whose cancers have been determined as unresponsive to anti-androgen treatments.

In 2007, the drug has been recommended for approval after review by an FDA advisory panel. However, the FDA chose to ask for additional data regarding Provenge’s contribution towards lengthening patient survival.

In response, Dendreon conducted a new study to determine whether Provenge treatment can significantly increase a patient’s chances for survival. The study was conducted using a test pool of 512 patients with advanced stage prostate cancer – patients whose cancers have already spread and are no longer responding to anti- androgen treatment. Results of the study showed that those who were given Provenge had significantly higher survival rates than those who were not administered with the drug. The results were consistent with the results of previous trials conducted using the drug, according to Dendreon president and CEO Mitchell Gold, MD. In addition, no new side effects from Provenge were noted.

If approved by the FDA, Provenge can become a potential treatment option for patients who are no longer responding to treatments after having undergone surgery or any other local therapy as well as anti-androgen therapy as a result of cancer recurrence.

Dendreon will present the study and their findings at the annual meeting of the American Urological Society in Chicago on April 28. The American Cancer Society has released a statement expressing interest in the results of the study, and that it is looking forward to the presentation. Dendreon intends to submit their findings to the FDA in the last quarter of 2009.

Trials are ongoing for an experimental drug that may be used for patients with advanced prostate cancer.

Initial results for the first trial were reported by the researchers in an advance online edition of Science. The trial tested the effects of the experimental drug MDV3100 in men suffering from advanced prostate cancer whose disease had become resistant to drug therapy that specifically treats receptors for the hormone androgen.

A test population of 30 patients was given a daily dose of either 30 or 60 milligrams of MDV3100 through a pill. A significant number, 22 out of 30, experienced a consistent drop in their prostate specific antigen (PSA) level over a period of at least 12 weeks. Out of the 22 patients, 13 had a significant PSA level drop of more than half their original level at the start of the treatment.

Researchers noted that the drug was “well-tolerated”. Among the researchers is Charles Sawyer, MD, an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Chairman of the Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

Though only initial results are available and have been released, these clinical results look promising, as expressed by Dr. Sawyer to WebMD. As of this time, the study has progressed to observing an additional 110 patients who are being administered with even higher doses of MDV3100. At the end of this trial, an even larger test population and trial is being prepared and is expected to begin this year.

Dr. Sawyer indicated, however, that MDV3100 seems to trigger side effects, primarily fatigue, when taken in doses higher than 60 milligrams.

Dr. Sawyer estimates that the new drug may be eligible for FDA consideration in three to four years. What the FDA and the general public will be waiting for, the doctor further states, is evidence that the drug has the ability to prolong survival as opposed to standard treatment. In order to gather this evidence, more time for observation will be required.