Diseases
Don’t rush to treat prostate cancer!
By David Liu, Ph.D.
Feb 13, 2008 - 3:39:19 PM

WEDNESDAY FEB 13, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- Got prostate cancer?   Do not rush to accept any treatment as chances are good that a prostate cancer patient may die more likely from other diseases or conditions than prostate cancer or its complications, according to a new study.   A right approach researchers suggested patients adopt is "wait and watch".

Dr. Grace Lu_Yau, a cancer epidemiologist at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey and associate professor at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School said patients need to compare both the potential survival benefits and the potential side effects of various treatments with the benefits and possible negative impact the patient may have if the cancer is left untreated.

The study presented at the 2008 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium held in San Francisco found although prostate cancer is found in one in every six men in the United States, many of the malignancies are slow-growers and there is no way to determine which men would benefit from any treatment, Lu-Yau was cited by healthday.com as saying.

At present, one controversial test known as prostate-specific antigen or PSA blood testing is commonly used to detect prostate cancer although this method is notoriously unreliable. In effect, only 10-15% of men with high PSA need a prostate biopsy and only 2-3 percent will require any treatment, according to BBC News.

The current study was based on data on more than 9,000 men at a mean age of 77 years with State I or II prostate cancer diagnosed between 1992 and 2002 who elected not to be treated.

The researchers found 72 percent of these men died of causes unrelated to prostate cancer and the rest of patients or 2,675 of them received treatment ten years after diagnosis.

Lu-Yau said the treatment for elderly men with localized prostate canner most likely has only a modest therapeutic effect and therefore it is critical to weigh the risk of having side effects of various treatments including possible cancer-related implications after the treatment.

Prostate cancer hits 218,890 U.S. men and kills 27,050 in 2007. Environmental modifiable risk factors include a healthy diet.   Generally speaking, eating meats and dairy products may increase the risk of developing prostate cancer while consuming plant-food rich diet may reduce the risk.

For more information on how to eat to prevent prostate cancer, read Eat fit to prevent prostate cancer.

Web link: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/prostate