“Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels are significantly lower in aspirin users with latent prostate cancer than in similar patients who are not aspirin users,” say Vanderbilt University “scientists who caution that aspirin may affect prostate cancer detection.”
An editorial published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology “speculates about how oncologists should disseminate” information in clinical practice about vitamin D in light of recent research and “laboratory, ecologic, and epidemiologic studies” indicating that “higher levels of vitamin D might lower the risk for colon, breast, endometrial, and prostate cancers.” In the editorial, Pamela J. Goodwin, MD, of Mount Sinai Hospital and Princess Margaret Hospital, in Toronto, Canada, explained that “the ‘unpredictable relationship between vitamin D intake and blood levels’ makes it difficult to recommend a standard dose for supplementation.” But, “depending on age, current recommendations for vitamin D range from 200 to 600 IU per day. Given that there is sufficient evidence that vitamin D supplementation at these doses is associated with reduced mortality and improved bone health, clinicians should feel comfortable using them as a starting point,” she said.
Medscape (4/2, Nelson) reported, “After a radical prostatectomy, the risk for recurrence is strongly affected by the experience of the operating surgeon,” an actuality that holds “true for both open and laparoscopic procedures.” But, investigators at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, also pointed out that the “learning curve for surgery — improvement in surgical outcomes with increasing surgeon experience — appears to accrue more slowly for laparoscopic radical prostatectomy than for open surgery.” Lead researcher Andrew Vickers, PhD, explained, “If they are only doing a handful of radical prostatectomies a year, then [surgeons] are going to have a hard time getting up on the learning curve. A great deal of surgical experience is required to treat prostate cancer optimally.” Read more…