THE "NEW" PROSTATE CANCER INFOLINK

In today’s prostate cancer news reports we have noted items on:

• The Prostate Cancer Risk Calculator and its use in community practice
• Potential guidelines on prostate cancer management for the elderly
• The relative risk of single focus as compared to multifocal disease

Eyre et al. have validated the accuracy of the PCPT-based Prostate Cancer Risk Calulator in the diagnosis of prostate cancer in a community-based setting that is highly representative of patients referred for consideration of prostate biopsy in American urology practices.

On behalf of the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG), Droz et al. have outlined principles for the development of a set of guidelines for management of prostate cancer in men over 70 years of age. The basic premise behind such guidelines is that the treatment of prostate cancer in senior adults should be adapted to the health status of the individual patient.

Rice et al. have reported that, based on an analysis of prostate cancer patients records in the database of the Center for Prostate Disease Research (CPDR), single focus prostate cancer occurs in about 9 percent of patients (103/1,159) and is significantly more aggressive than multifocal disease. Single focus prostate cancer was also associated with statistically higher rates of positive surgical margins, Gleason score 8-10 disease, and biochemical recurrence than multifocal disease.