Balding And Prostate Cancer

Balding And Prostate Cancer

Researcher findings have shown that balding and prostate cancer do have some association with the possibility of high levels of male hormones (testosterone) represent a part in both balding and prostate cancer. But, the study hasn't sort out whether men with baldness should be concerned. The study merely discovered a connection between male pattern baldness and prostate cancer. However, it has yet to prove the cause and effect.

This could be due to Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) attack on the follicles, like it attack on the prostate cells. Excessive testosterone production followed by the testosterone to DHT conversion will cause balding and also fuel the growth of prostate cancer cells.

Prostate Cancer And Baldness

The study established that men who has male pattern baldness in their twenties were at greater risk of having prostate cancer than men who are not bald during their twenties, however new study has found the connection between balding and prostate cancer irregardless of age. Researchers also found that men who had frontal and moderate crown baldness were forty percent more expected to have prostate cancer.

The development of baldness is more of a result due to the accumulation of testosterone in the skin rather than the level of testosterone.

"It is conceivable that, in the future, male pattern baldness may play a small role in estimating risk of prostate cancer and may contribute to discussions between doctors and patients about prostate cancer screening," said study co-author Michael Cook. Cook is an investigator with the division of cancer epidemiology and genetics at the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

Though the findings still require further studies to be affirmed the connection between balding and prostate cancer since that the vast majority of men in the study were white. Nevertheless, the researchers feel that medical assessment of baldness is probably valuable in determining men who are at higher risk of having prostate cancer. It wouldn't hurt for men who have noticeable male pattern baldness to be screened for prostate cancer.

The study is published in the Sept. 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Can Dogs Smell Prostate Cancer

Prostate Cancer Sniffer Dogs

How can dogs smell prostate cancer? In a research conducted by the Italy Humanitas Clinical and Research Centre, the researchers trained a pair of 3-year-old female German Shepherds to sense urine organic compounds sample specifically in prostate cancer patients. The urine samples were obtained from 900 human participants, where 360 of them have prostate cancer and 540 of them did not.

One of prostate cancer sniffer dogs marked an accuracy value of 98.7 percent in smelling prostate cancer, and the other German Shephards was 97.6 percent accurate, reported by researchers.

Prostate Cancer Sniffing Dogs Training

First the dog is trained to smell prostate cancer urine samples from healthy female and female with other variants of cancer. Follow by urine samples obtained from young healthy male then older healthy male. Next, urine gathered from those with prostate cancer. This training slowly trained the dog to sense prostate cancer trances and differentiate them apart.

After the trainings, the researchers screened the dogs by growing through all of the samples with the trained prostate cancer sniffing dogs from those men with prostate cancer which are being controlled in batches of six random samples. The researcher studying the results is unaware of which samples they were from men with prostate cancer.

This was not the initial study being conducted, similar study has been conducted in year 2011. A research affirmed that dogs can smell prostate cancer with a success rate 92% back then.

Currently, prostate cancer is diagnosed through blood tests, biopsies and physical examinations. By training dogs to sense prostate cancer is believe to be is a much inexpensive way for early detection of the prostate cancer. These dogs, which are specially trained, can be put to help the hospitals to sniff, not only cancer, but other infections or disease through urine samples.

These updated study offer further evidences that dogs have the ability to smell or sniff human cancer, which can be used as an supporting alternative to current diagnostic tests.

Radiation Therapy For Prostate Cancer After Surgery

Radiation therapy for prostate cancer after surgery may be necessary when the PSA sets off to move up after post-prostatectomy. Normally, after surgery the PSA should be undetectable subsequently approximately a month. Salvage radiation therapy for prostate cancer may be a sound alternative to consider. Occasionally, radiation therapy after prostatectomy prostate cancer is applied for men with high risk disease even if PSA level did not increase.

For the radiation therapy, external beam radiation is presented to the region directly encompassing where the prostate is, in the desires to eradicate whatever unexpended prostate cancer cells that have remain behind. Radiation therapy following prostate cancer surgery is not necessary to be carried out immediately, and can be done later after confirming the increase of the PSA value may often be more reasonable.

Radiation Treatment For Prostate Cancer Side Effects

Not everyone is suitable for the radiation therapy as there could  be side effects of radiation therapy for prostate cancer after surgery if there are visible places of disease of the immediate local area externally, if any tumor cells have been discovered in the lymph nodes, or if the Gleason score was around 8-10, post-surgery radiation therapy may not be suitable for you. The decision to apply radiation therapy to reduce the risk of recurrence and passing from prostate cancer after surgery is established on whether the cancer cells has overspread to other area.

About 25-33% of men with prostate cancer will get a prostate cancer recurrence after surgery or radiation therapy. Some of them can still be recovered after going through radiation therapy again for the prostate cancer recurrence. Further treatment for prostate cancer recurrence after radiation therapy is commonly still very beneficiaries. Follow up with prostate cancer recurrence treatment will depend upon where the cancer is believed to be and what treatment(s) have the patient gone through already or with other local treatment for prostate cancer after surgery and radiation. However, some men may build up a form of prostate cancer that may not be curable but stays maintainable for a very long time. Continue reading on radiation therapy vs surgery for prostate cancer...