Headlines in Urology Treatment

Male Infertility Often Caused By 'Varicose Veins' Simple Surgery Can Correct

Two reports from physician-scientists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center shed new light on male infertility. A first report shows that a common cause of male infertility — varicoceles, or varicose veins in the scrotum — also results in a depletion of testosterone. In a second related finding, researchers demonstrate that once a common, simple surgery is used to treat varicoceles and thereby restore fertility, testosterone levels are also improved.

Molecule That Restores Normal Gene Function in Prostate Cancer Cells Discovered

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center discovered a small molecule that may prevent prostate cancer cells from using methylation to turn off normal genes.

Surgery May Be Best for Prostate Patients

For men with prostate cancer, surgery may offer a better chance for survival than other standard treatments, such as watchful waiting, radiation or hormone therapy, a new study suggests. The survival benefits of surgery, the study found, may be most profound over the long term and in men who are diagnosed with cancer at a relatively young age.

Study Suggests Soy Protein May Reduce Prostate Cancer Risk

A study published in the Oct. 1 Journal of Nutrition suggests consumption of soy protein may play a role in reducing the risk of prostate cancer, Solae notes, giving consumers another healthy reason to make soy part of their diet.

The study, "Soy protein isolate increases urinary estrogens and the ratio of 2:16 alpha-hydroxyestrone in men at high risk of prostate cancer," is believed to be the first study investigating the effects of soy protein consumption on estrogen metabolism and prostate cancer in men.

Study Supports Change to Prostate Cancer Biopsy

Adding an extra step to the standard test for prostate cancer might improve treatment for some men, a new study finds.

Doctors now use what's known as the Gleason test -- named for the physician who developed it -- as a major tool in judging how aggressively a prostate cancer should be treated, explained lead researcher Dr. Abhijit A. Patel, a radiation oncologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

Get Fit, Cancer Patients Told

A ground-breaking clinical trial at Wollongong University has revealed that regular exercise can significantly improve the quality of life and lessen the physical impacts of breast and prostate cancer.

Started in late 2004, the trial by Research Fellow Dr Nancy Humpel of the Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences pioneered an area of research that has expanded dramatically around the world.

"While people diagnosed with breast and prostate cancers live longer than before, the treatment process often results in severe psychological and physical side effects," Dr Humpel said.

New Study Revealing Clues Into Prostate Cancer

A new genetic study is revealing clues into the causes of prostate cancer that could lead to better treatments for patients.

Researchers say though the actual cause of prostate cancer is still unknown, they are getting close by studying something called gene fusion.

According to the experts, a fused gene works like a switch, turning 'on' normally turned 'off' cancer-causing genes, which could be the start of the disease.

Experimental Drug Shows Promise In Advanced Kidney Cancer

Excessive Multivitamin Use May Raise Risk for Prostate Cancer

About a third of American adults take some type of multivitamin on a regular basis. In nearly every case, the goal is better health, even though there is no firm evidence to support this hope. The absence of benefit is one thing, but the presence of harm is another: A 2007 report in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute concluded that there was an increased prostate cancer risk among men using multivitamins, reports the October 2007 issue of Harvard Men’s Health Watch.

When scientists further explored this finding, they found no link between multivitamin use and the risk of developing localized prostate cancer. But they did find that men who take multivitamins more than once a day were 32% are more likely to develop advanced prostate cancer and 98% more likely to die from the disease.

AstraZeneca drug extends prostate cancer survival

Patients with advanced prostate cancer given AstraZeneca's experimental pill ZD4054 live around seven months longer than those on placebo, according to results of a clinical trial presented on Tuesday.