THE "NEW" PROSTATE CANCER INFOLINK

In other news from the end of the week:

• Possible confirmation of low, long-term arsenic exposure as a causative agent for prostate cancer
• Impact of PSA standardization on prostate cancer diagnosis
• Collaboration to identify biomarkers for metastatic prostate cancer
• Treatment options for the management of bladder neck obstruction

Yang et al. appear to have confirmed a direct causal relationship between long-term exposure to low levels of arsenic and development of prostate cancer. Their “proof of concept” is based on an unusual environmental occurrence in Taiwan, where a well-defined population was exposed to arsenic in the water supply prior to the early 1970s, when arsenic was eliminated from the drinking water supply. Since the complete elimination  of arsenic from the artesian well water used for drinking, ratews of prostate cancer among the community have gradually declined.

Jansen et al. have reported on the impact of WHO standardization of PSA testing on the probabilities of prostate biopsy and prostate cancer diagnosis. They state that unless a patient has a positive DRE, one consequence of the standardization has been a 19-20 percent reduction in the probability of cancer detection.

Strategic Diagnostics Inc. (SDI) has announced development of a collaborative agreement with the University of Delaware, in conjunction with the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center at Christiana Care Health System, to develop biomarkers that detect prostate cancer metastasis. Cancer cells implanting in normal tissue can cause damage to surrounding proteins when they break away from the primary tumor, leaving behind protein molecule fragments. These fragments are indicators that the cancer has metastasized. SDI will work to develop antibodies to detect the protein fragments left by the invading cancer cells. Tests that employ such antibodies could help determine the stage and severity of the cancer.

Westney has reviewed the potential roles of different treatment options in the management of bladder outlet obstruction following either prostatectomy or cystectomy (removal of the bladder). Bladder outlet obstruction can be a major problem for a small subset of men following radical prostatectomy as a treatment of prostate cancer, and a relatively small number of specialists can be said to be highly skilled in the use of the available techniques.