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Calcium, Vitamin D,
and Common Sense
Calcium and vitamin D are essential for older adults’ bone health, but how much is enough? Read more »
Adults With Intellectual and
Developmental Disabilities:
A Unique Population
Treating adults with intellectual disabilities can present physicians with significant challenges. Providers need to develop the skills and sensitivity necessary to effectively treat these patients. Read more »
Unintentional Weight Loss
and Appetite Stimulants
The use of appetite stimulants should be considered only after nonpharmacological interventions have been attempted and found ineffective. Read more » |
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An aggressive form of prostate cancer kills as many as 30,000 American men annually; the average age at diagnosis is about 67. The American Cancer Society estimates that about one in six men will be affected by prostate cancer, the second most common cancer in men.
Low-grade, slow-growing cancers can often safely be monitored and treated with watchful waiting, with patients spared the invasive surgery, radiation, or both that frequently closely follow diagnosis. The side effects associated with these aggressive treatments significantly impact patients’ quality of life.
But a new genomic test for prostate cancer can help predict men’s increased likelihood of harboring an aggressive form of the disease. With this improved risk assessment, patients and their physicians can make informed decisions regarding prostate cancer treatment.
In addition to reading our e-newsletter, be sure to visit Today's Geriatric Medicine's website at www.TodaysGeriatricMedicine.com, where you’ll find news and information that’s relevant and reliable. We welcome your feedback at TGMeditor@gvpub.com. Follow Today's Geriatric Medicine on Facebook and Twitter, too.
— Barbara Worthington, editor |
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New Prostate Cancer Test
Improves Risk Assessment
A new genomic test for prostate cancer can help predict whether men are more likely to harbor an aggressive form of the disease, according to a new University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) study presented last month during the American Urology Association’s annual meeting. The test, which improves risk assessment when patients are first diagnosed, also can aid in determining which men are suited for active surveillance, a way of managing the disease without direct treatment.
Prostate cancer often grows slowly, and many of the 250,000 patients diagnosed annually in the United States never need treatment, which typically involves surgery, radiation, or both. Most patients with low-risk prostate cancer in this country immediately undergo treatment.
The researchers found that the new test provides statistically significant and clinically meaningful prognostic information and can help identify many more low-risk men who could safely choose surveillance, sparing them from unnecessary treatment and avoidable adverse side effects. At the same time, the test can pinpoint men at apparent low risk who in fact may have potentially aggressive tumors, the authors said.
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