FRIDAY, Sept. 19, 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- A drug used to combat baldness can cut the risk of prostate cancer by 25 percent.
A newly discovered gene appears to play a key role in governing the spread of cancerous prostate cells to other parts of the body.
Frequent exercise, maintaining a proper weight and routine prostate screenings seem to be significant steps to prevent the disease's spread.
These recent findings are just the latest fruits of research into prostate cancer -- developments that have made treatment more promising than ever before.
Still, experts say, early detection remains vitally important in efforts to combat the disease, which will afflict one in six American men in his life.
And that's a message men's health experts will be promoting during September, Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.
Among the latest findings:
- U.S. researchers reported in July that men who took the baldness drug finasteride for seven years had a 25 percent lower chance of getting prostate cancer, compared with those who took a placebo. The federally sponsored study marked the first time it was shown a drug could prevent prostate cancer.
- University of Michigan researchers found a gene that may be key to stopping the spread of prostate cancer. The gene, designated RKIP, which produces the RKIP protein, can stop cancer cells from leaving the prostate and entering the bloodstream, the researchers reported in June.
- A study of 1,117 men with localized prostate cancer found those at high risk of having the disease spread beyond the gland were more likely to be obese and to exercise less than twice a week. These men also were less likely to have had annual prostate screenings. By contrast, men with the lowest risk of cancer progression kept their body weight down, got regular exercise and had routine prostate cancer screenings, researchers from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center reported in April.
"It's a remarkable time to be taking care of people with this disease," says Dr. Ian M. Thompson, a urologist at the University of Texas Health Science Center and the lead researcher in the study of the baldness drug.
With all the advances in prostate research, he says, "The prognosis is a lot better than 20 years ago."
Progress in prevention and treatment notwithstanding, experts say screening for prostate cancer remains crucial.
"It's a very simple issue: Prostate cancer detected early is often much more treatable than when discovered late," says Dr. Richard Atkins, president and chief executive officer of the National Prostate Cancer Coalition. "Late-stage prostate cancer is very difficult to control and it, sadly, remains too often a lethal disease."
The prostate gland, part of the male reproductive system, is about the size and shape of a walnut and weighs about an ounce. It's located below the bladder, in front of the rectum, and its main function is producing fluid for semen.
Prostate cancer, with 220,000 new cases diagnosed each year, is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among men in America, representing about 30 percent of all new cancer cases in males, the National Prostate Cancer Coalition says. The disease kills almost 29,000 American men annually, the coalition says.
Early prostate cancer often does not cause symptoms, the National Cancer Institute says.
But the NCI says there are potential signals to watch for. They include a need to urinate frequently, especially at night; difficulty starting urination or holding back urine; the inability to urinate; weak or interrupted flow of urine; painful or burning urination; difficulty having an erection; painful ejaculation; blood in urine or semen; or frequent pain or stiffness in the lower back, hips or upper thighs.
Atkins says men may feel threatened by the prospect of screenings.
"The male psyche is one where he is supposed to be strong, invincible and invulnerable," he says. "To go to a doctor, to go see a health-care practitioner, in some ways conveys that that Adonis body may have things that go wrong with it. And that's very threatening to men."
Screenings for prostate cancer, which take less than 10 minutes, consist of measuring the blood levels of a chemical called prostate-specific antigen (PSA), and a digital rectal exam.
The American Cancer Society recommends annual screenings for men 50 and older -- and screenings starting at 45 for those considered at higher risk. These men include blacks and those who have a close family member who was diagnosed with prostate cancer at an early age.
But even men at high risk for the disease often don't get the screenings.
"Awareness is a huge issue," Thompson says. "It astounds me that, for example, African-American men or a man with a family history of [prostate] cancer wouldn't have a discussion with a doctor about prostate cancer."
More information
To learn more about prostate cancer, visit the National Cancer Institute or the American Cancer Society.
