tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75473566213844872592024-03-05T19:39:19.596-05:00The Palpable ProstateProstate cancer topics, links and more. Now at <a href="http://palpable-prostate.blogspot.com/2008/02/contents.html">200+ posts!</a><br>The Palpable Prostatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16142459096123501053noreply@blogger.comBlogger215125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547356621384487259.post-49220399926051669932019-07-06T10:00:00.001-05:002019-07-06T10:00:50.052-05:00Blog Updates for July 2019July 6, 2019. In Metformin and Prostate Cancer we added: A 2019 review and meta-analysis by Chinese researchers based on 30 research studies reported on between 2012 and 2017 concludes that metformin improves overall survival, cancer specific survival and recurrence free survival for those with prostate cancer but does not reduce the risk of getting prostate cancer for those without prostate The Palpable Prostatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16142459096123501053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547356621384487259.post-74274382369644869162018-04-01T14:33:00.000-05:002018-04-07T07:49:21.106-05:00Blog Updates for April 2018April 1, 2018. In Metformin and Prostate Cancer we added: Since then a 2016 paper found, in a cross sectional study of 326 cancer-free diabetic men, that metformin lowered PSA; however, in contrast other blood glucose lowering medications (sulfonylureas, thazodlidinediones) they looked at did not lower it. This suggests that other mechanisms than blood glucose lowering are responsible. The Palpable Prostatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16142459096123501053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547356621384487259.post-41504087063318112502017-08-07T01:06:00.000-05:002017-08-07T01:06:35.201-05:00Blog Updates for July 2017July 14, 2017. The 2017 Miror Mirror report providing international comparisons of health care systems is out and freely available [here]. The Benchmarking line under Links in the right panel of this blog has a link to it as well as links to some of their past reports.The Palpable Prostatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16142459096123501053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547356621384487259.post-15025452229599027482017-07-14T18:44:00.000-05:002017-07-14T18:44:49.980-05:00Blog Updates for June 2017June 6, 2017. In Metformin and Prostate Cancer we added: A June 2017 review paper by Whitburn et al on metformin and prostate cancer is available here: [PMID: 28444639] [Full Free Text]
The Palpable Prostatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16142459096123501053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547356621384487259.post-18896664094007738402017-06-04T09:40:00.000-05:002017-06-06T23:47:12.955-05:00Eat your carrotsA December 2014 Chinese meta-analysis of prior studies on carrot consumption and prostate cancer reported that while there were some inconsistent results it nevertheless found an inverse relationship, i.e. eating more carrots cut the risk of getting prostate cancer. Importantly, it found a dose-response relationship -- for every 10 grams of carrots per day consumed there was a 5 percentage The Palpable Prostatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16142459096123501053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547356621384487259.post-33226438513890593392017-04-08T19:26:00.000-05:002017-04-09T10:27:06.209-05:00Finding freely available research articlesA new Firefox and Chrome browser extension creates a small button on the right
side of the screen whenever you visit a journal article's web page. If it is
green then it found the article freely and legally available on a pre-print server
or the article was not pay-walled in the first place.
To install the extension simply go the
unpaywall.org site
using Firefox or Chrome and click on the The Palpable Prostatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16142459096123501053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547356621384487259.post-84720374441940750772017-01-03T19:44:00.001-05:002017-01-04T09:37:18.376-05:00Female physicians, saunasFemale vs. Male Physicians In a recent study that Harvard researchers published in JAMA, it was found that patients over 65 years old had lower death rates and lower hospital re-admission rates if they were treated by a female physician rather than a male doctor. The difference was small (11.07% vs 11.49% in adjusted 30-day mortality and 15.02% vs 15.57% in adjusted re-admissions) but if The Palpable Prostatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16142459096123501053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547356621384487259.post-60751579914755161242016-11-25T12:11:00.003-05:002016-11-29T17:28:04.403-05:00The Rule of 72 and PSA Doubling TimeA common approximation used in finance is that an investment which grows at x% per year will double in roughly 72/x years. It is known as the rule of 72. What is of interest here is that it not only applies to finance but also PSA doubling time.
First consider the case of an investment. Suppose an investment grows at 12% per year. Then according to the aforementioned rule it The Palpable Prostatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16142459096123501053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547356621384487259.post-12232324184751598602016-11-15T18:48:00.002-05:002016-12-02T18:53:49.877-05:002016 AUA Meeting[Updated: December 2, 2015]
>br />
Highlights of the 2016 American Urology Association (AUA) meeting have recently been published.
[review]
Key topics relating to prostate cancer included:
- Molecular imaging. PSMA is expressed in prostate cancer and radiotracers can
detect it. The highlights include discussion of such imaging as well as the
use of antibodies targeting PSMA to deliver The Palpable Prostatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16142459096123501053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547356621384487259.post-80958336043592328382016-10-02T10:54:00.003-05:002016-10-05T22:31:10.389-05:00Blog updates for September 2016Oct 2, 2016. In Grape Seed Extract we add: Although the 62% reduction in prostate cancer among the high grape seed extract group is eye opening there is only
one clinical trial on grape seed extract and prostate cancer: [clinicaltrials.gov - prostate cancer and grape seed extract]. In comparison there are 27 clinical trials on metformin and prostate cancer: [clinicaltrials.gov - prostate The Palpable Prostatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16142459096123501053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547356621384487259.post-18480344319978293752016-09-23T06:38:00.001-05:002016-10-02T10:47:42.022-05:00Grape Seed Extract[Updated October 2, 2016]
This 2011 report on the VITAL study of 35,239 men found no effect on the development of prostate cancer for chondroitin, coenzyme Q10, fish oil, garlic, ginkgo biloba, ginseng, glucosamine or saw palmetto; however, it did find a 41% reduction in the development of prostate cancer among those who took grape seed oil supplements and a 62% reduction in the development of The Palpable Prostatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16142459096123501053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547356621384487259.post-41739632387925602602016-08-01T08:42:00.000-05:002016-10-02T10:56:00.970-05:00Blog updates for July 2016July 22, 2016. In Metformin and Prostate Cancer we added statin references: Other recent work suggests benefit from combination therapy of metformin with statins [PMC3329836 full free text], [news release], p53 stabilizers [PMID: 26900800], chemotherapy [PMID: 27118574].The Palpable Prostatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16142459096123501053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547356621384487259.post-45111780287530950502016-06-22T22:15:00.002-05:002016-07-02T06:21:24.450-05:00Brachytherapy problem
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In a perineal saturation biopsy, a brachytherapy-like grid of rectangular squares is spaced at s = 5mm. The Palpable Prostatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16142459096123501053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547356621384487259.post-88500790220628438712016-06-03T19:18:00.005-05:002016-06-03T19:18:51.470-05:00Blog Updates for May 2016June 3, 2016. In Metformin and Prostate Cancer we added: A May 2016 update by Sayyid and Fleshner [PMID: 27195314] [Full Free Text] reviews studies that show a decreased prostate cancer risk with metformin as well as beneficial effects for prostate cancer patients after treatment. Other recent work suggests benefit of combination therapy of metformin with statins, p53 stabilizers [PMID: The Palpable Prostatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16142459096123501053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547356621384487259.post-51347700195979507072016-04-30T09:41:00.001-05:002016-05-01T06:18:04.158-05:00Blog Updates for April 2016Note to readers. The Palpable Prostate Blog has now published over 200 blog posts -- this post is number 201.
April 30, 2016 in Metformin and protate cancer we added: A number of investigations have concluded that metformin acts by blocking the glucose cancer cells need and in the absence of glucose they will turn to glutamanine and leucine. They hypothesize that interfering with glutamine The Palpable Prostatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16142459096123501053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547356621384487259.post-49647866862381939872016-03-31T13:56:00.000-05:002016-03-31T13:56:03.756-05:00Blog Updates for March 2016March 31. In Choosing a Surgeon - Part I. Considerations, Choosing a Surgeon - Part I we added: Incidentally it has also been found that it is also true that radiation at high volume centers have better outcomes. See [PMID: 26972640] .The Palpable Prostatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16142459096123501053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547356621384487259.post-20254689160398291012016-02-25T18:42:00.000-05:002016-02-25T18:43:16.525-05:00Blog Updates for Feburary 2016Feb 25, 2016. In Prostate Cancer Calculators we added this calculator: Probability of Recurrence, Potency and Continence after Laprascopic (LRP) Surgery Based on 500 LRP surgery patients of Christopher Eden this calculator accepts PSA and stage and displays the percentage of patients who were cancer-free, the percentage who regained potency and the percentage who regained continence after The Palpable Prostatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16142459096123501053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547356621384487259.post-56346610645849767162016-01-05T13:11:00.002-05:002019-07-06T09:58:38.803-05:00Metformin and prostate cancer[Updated July 6, 2019]
A 2019 review and meta-analysis by Chinese researchers based on 30 research studies reported on between 2012 and 2017 concludes that metformin improves overall survival, cancer specific survival and recurrence free survival for those with prostate cancer but does not reduce the risk of getting prostate cancer for those without prostate cancer. Patients who also had The Palpable Prostatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16142459096123501053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547356621384487259.post-73613145727771720452015-11-30T19:17:00.001-05:002015-11-30T19:17:21.287-05:00From Pilot to System SolutionIt seems that so much is known in medicine and health care that is not widely enough applied. The video below of the keynote talk by Dr. Danielle Martin at the Health Quality Transformation 2015 conference focused on health care in Ontario notes that "less than 40% of health improvement projects successfully expand beyond the early group of adopters who first bring them to life" and discusses The Palpable Prostatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16142459096123501053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547356621384487259.post-88272309825489887202015-11-01T15:04:00.000-05:002015-11-01T20:27:32.152-05:00Peto's ParadoxThe larger an animal is the more cells it has and the longer lived an animal has the more time cells have to mutate so one would think that larger and longer lived animals would have more cancer; however, that is not the case. Science World Report quotes researchers as saying that "less than 5 percent of elephants develop cancer compared to 25 percent of humans". That larger animals The Palpable Prostatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16142459096123501053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547356621384487259.post-23498252322922598512015-09-29T16:20:00.001-05:002015-09-29T16:20:51.227-05:00Blog Updates for September 2015Sep 27, 2015. In Prostate Cancer Calculators we added:
Date of Death The population.io web site asks for your birthday, country and gender and based on this input estimates what percentage of people in your country and on earth are younger than you and your date of death.
Mortality Simulator The flowingdata web site shows a chart with a blue curve part way down the page. The curve representsThe Palpable Prostatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16142459096123501053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547356621384487259.post-45385026815753073682015-08-14T11:07:00.000-05:002015-08-17T10:00:39.605-05:00Nutritional Supplements and Prostate Cancer[Updated August 17, 2015]
Literature Review
A 2015 survey of nutritional approaches to prostate cancer published in BMC
Medicine contains a table of approaches for which the authors found research.
See table 1 in [Full Free
Text of paper].
UK NCRN POMI-T Study
A 2014 six month randomized placebo-controlled double blind UK study published
in Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases of a The Palpable Prostatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16142459096123501053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547356621384487259.post-2112888653742680282015-08-01T07:35:00.000-05:002015-08-01T07:35:57.081-05:00Blog updates for July 2015August 1, 2015. In PSADT Part 1 we add:
PSA Doubling Time (PSADT) was found to be the most consistent of the top prognostic factors for a variety of endpoints (prostate cancer-specific survival, metastases-free survival, overall or all cause survival) in a 2015 literature review of relevant studies so we focus this 5 part series of posts specifically on it. [PMID: 26180662] [Full Free The Palpable Prostatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16142459096123501053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547356621384487259.post-24689124356891441752015-07-01T15:19:00.001-05:002015-07-01T15:19:47.656-05:00Demographic Factors Affecting Prostate Cancer Mortality
In a June 25, 2015 PLoS One paper [full text] Yao et al perform a
regression of prostate cancer mortality (one point per county) using the
following explanatory variables:
Significant at 0.1% level:
- more urologists per 100,000 people decreases prostate cancer mortality
- being in a metropolitan country decreases prostate cancer mortality
- greater percentage of population being non-white The Palpable Prostatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16142459096123501053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7547356621384487259.post-47004125748872232422015-06-01T07:44:00.000-05:002015-06-01T07:44:03.018-05:00Less lethal prostate cancer among those diagnosed with asthmaIn a review of the Health Professionals Follow Up study (47,000 men) researchers found the proportion of subjects with lethal prostate cancer was 29% less among those who had been diagnosed with asthma vs. those who had not. For those had been disagosed with hayfever the risk was 10% higher.
The finding for asthma is odd because both prostate cancer and asthma are thought to be The Palpable Prostatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16142459096123501053noreply@blogger.com0