ProstateCancer

Prostate Cancer Risk and Screening: Five Things You Need to Know  

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Prostate cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in men. When found early, before it has spread, patients can do extremely well.  However, prostate cancer risks vary due to genetics, health care access, socioeconomics, and environmental exposures. Some groups have higher risks and worse outcomes. For example:  The best way to improve your chances of … Read more

What are Cancer Vaccines?

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Cancer vaccines are a form of immunotherapy aimed at enhancing the immune system’s ability to recognize and attack cancer cells, or to protect against certain forms of cancer caused by viruses. Vaccine can help prevent some cancers There are two approved preventive vaccines directed against cancer-causing viruses.  Vaccines against cancer-causing or other infectious microbes typically … Read more

Online Tool Offers Guidance for Men with Non-Metastatic Prostate Cancer

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Men diagnosed with non-metastatic prostate cancer now have access to a new tool on the TrueNTH USA website to help them prepare for their first meeting with a cancer physician. The tool, called Personal Patient Profile-Prostate (P3P), was created by Dana-Farber researchers and is now available to all men with non-metastatic prostate cancer though TrueNTH … Read more

What Are Tumor Markers?

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Blood tests for the presence of substances called tumor markers can be helpful in diagnosing cancer and assessing how well treatment is working. But such tests alone generally can’t tell for certain whether someone has cancer or not. That’s why they are used in conjunction with other methods, such as imaging scans and biopsies. Hematological … Read more

What Is ‘Watchful Waiting’ and When Is it Right for Prostate Cancer?

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According to the American Cancer Society, more than 180,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year, with African American men 60 percent more likely to develop the disease than other ethnic groups. Fortunately, the vast majority of prostate cancer diagnoses will be a slow-growing, highly treatable form of the disease. For many men diagnosed … Read more

Cancer Conversations Podcast—Episode #16: The Latest in Prostate Cancer Treatment and Research

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Prostate cancer affects 230,000 men each year. Although diagnoses are increasing worldwide, most people die with prostate cancer and not of prostate cancer, according to Mark Pomerantz, MD, a medical oncologist in Dana-Farber’s Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology. In this Cancer Conversations podcast episode, Pomerantz discusses genetics, risk factors, and the controversy surrounding the PSA … Read more

What Is Hormone Therapy?

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Hormone therapy might more accurately be called anti-hormone therapy because it works by blocking hormones that spur certain cancers to grow. Hormones act by attaching to proteins, called receptors, on the outside of cells, resulting in cell or cancer growth. Reducing this type of cancer cell growth by blocking hormones is used most commonly in … Read more

The Latest in Prostate Cancer Research and Treatment

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Prostate cancer is the most common cancer affecting men in the United States, after skin cancer. Yet, “most men die with prostate cancer, not of prostate cancer,” says Mark Pomerantz, MD, a medical oncologist in Dana-Farber’s Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology, who recently shared the latest in prostate cancer research and treatment during a live … Read more

Does Cycling Increase Risk for Testicular or Prostate Cancer?

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Since professional cyclist Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1996, many men have wondered about the connection between cycling and testicular cancer, as well as prostate cancer. While a number of studies have looked into a link between the sport and cancer, the findings to date are inconclusive, says Mark Pomerantz, MD. “This … Read more

Understanding PSA Scores

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Just as there is no one-size-fits-all number for high blood pressure, a variety of factors can influence whether a man’s PSA score is considered above normal. PSA, or prostate-specific antigen, is a protein that’s often associated with prostate cancer. A PSA test measures the level of the protein in a man’s blood. A score of … Read more

Why I Ride: Dr. Christopher Sweeney

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Since 1980, more than 88,000 cyclists have taken to Massachusetts’ roads for the Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC) to raise funds for cancer research and patient care at Dana-Farber. Among the riders are many patients, their family members, and their doctors. Christopher Sweeney, MBBS, medical oncologist in Dana-Farber’s Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology, is one of them. … Read more

Star-Studded Support for Dana-Farber

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A group of influential theater owners known as the Variety Club of New England were touring Boston Children’s Hospital in 1947 when they happened upon a tiny basement laboratory. Here, Sidney Farber, MD, was conducting research that would lead to the first remissions in pediatric leukemia. The men were so impressed by Farber they decided to … Read more

Progress and Promise in Prostate Cancer Research

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In prostate cancer – the most common cancer in men aside from skin cancer – scientists are working to answer some of the most basic questions about the disease while developing an array of new treatments.

Using the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test, doctors are often able to detect prostate cancer at an early stage. But it remains difficult to determine which prostate cancers are likely to spread – and therefore require aggressive treatment – and which are either idle or slow-growing, and can be dealt with by “observation or active surveillance.” This uncertainty could result in unnecessary treatment for some patients.

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