Articles

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based screening has not been shown to reduce prostate cancer–specific mortality, but is associated with harms related to subsequent evaluation and treatments, some of which may be unnecessary, according to a new analysis of the evidence by the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) published online in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

WASHINGTON, DC—Genetic differences among African-American and white men seem to be root causes of the prostate cancer disparities between the 2 groups, according to new data. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among men in the United States, with occurrences and mortality rates higher in African- American men compared with white men. Studies show that prostate cancer is a disease conferred by multiple gene mutations, numerous alterations in gene expression, and changes in genome composition.

SAN FRANCISCO—A number of interventions can help reduce breast cancer among women at high risk, but uptake is sluggish, and there can be confusion about which agent to prescribe to a given patient. Seema Khan, MD, professor of surgery at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, addressed the topic of pharmacologic risk reduction at the 2011 Breast Cancer Symposium.

Thanks to medical research, there are nearly 12 million cancer survivors living in the United States today. And the research continues: There are approximately 400 new cancer therapies in preclinical and clinical development. As progress continues to treat those with cancer, let’s examine the statistics related to clinical trial participation.

From 1996 through 2002, National Cancer Institute (NCI)-sponsored cooperative group nonsurgical treatment trials for breast, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers enrolled 75,215 patients:

A recent study shows postmenopausal women with new-onset breast tenderness after beginning estrogen and progestin therapy may have an increased risk of breast cancer compared to women who don’t suffer breast tenderness. Researchers from UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center conducted the study, which appears in the early online edition of the peer-reviewed journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment.

A protein in the nucleus of breast cancer cells that helps stimulate the growth of aggressive breast cancer tumors may be an appropriate target for new drug treatments, researchers from the Duke Cancer Institute report. The study was published in the October 18, 2011, issue of the journal Cancer Cell.

“This is validation of a new drug target for a subset of breast cancers that have poor treatment options,” said the study’s senior author, Donald McDonnell, PhD, chairman of the Duke Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology.

A gene, known as an androgen receptor (AR), is found in both prostate and breast cancers and has opposite effects on the two diseases, according to a recent study.