Prostate Cancer

Background of Prostate Cancer

The prostate is a walnut-sized male sex gland located below the bladder. It makes a fluid that forms part of the semen that nourishes and carries sperm. Cancer of the prostate is the most common form of cancer in American men other than skin cancer, and it is the second leading cause of death (after lung cancer). An estimated 234,000 new cases will be diagnosed in 2006, but death rates are declining. Prostate cancer typically grows slowly; if tumors are detected and treated early, chances of survival are excellent. Screening for prostate cancer involves a digital-rectal examination and the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test.

[ Back to Top ]

Who is at Risk for Prostate Cancer?

One in six American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. More than half of all prostate cancers are diagnosed in men over age 55, and the median age at diagnosis is 69. Incidence rates are higher among African-American men and those with a family history of the disease, suggesting that there may be a genetic component for certain individuals. Some studies have suggested that diets high in fat may increase prostate-cancer risk.

[ Back to Top ]

Hutchinson Center Prostate Cancer Research

Overview of Hutchinson Center Prostate Cancer Research

Hutchinson Center researchers are attacking prostate cancer on a variety of fronts, from identifying genetic, lifestyle and environmental risk factors, to developing promising new approaches for prevention, detection and treatment.

The Center leads several major national studies aimed at understanding the causes of prostate cancer and how to prevent it. Other research includes evaluating the effectiveness and side effects of various prostate-cancer treatments and discovering ways to reduce the risk of prostate cancer through interventions such as diet, nutritional supplements and hormone-blocking drugs.

Hutchinson Center researchers also lead the Seattle-based Program in Prostate Cancer Research, a multidisciplinary team of researchers at:

• Hutchinson Center
• University of Washington
• VA Puget Sound
• Swedish Hospital Prostate Institute
• Northwest Prostate Institute
• Harborview Medical Center
• Institute for Systems Biology

The program brings together investigators with diverse expertise and interests in the genetic and environmental causes of prostate cancer, the molecular and immunological mechanisms of cancer development and progression, and prostate-cancer prevention. Their ultimate goal is to develop new approaches to the cure and prevention of prostate cancer through developing and testing innovative screening tools and prevention strategies and treatments, including drugs and vaccines.

[ Back to Top ]

A key player in landmark prostate-cancer prevention research

• A large international study is underway to determine if vitamin E and the trace element selenium, taken together or separately, can prevent prostate cancer. The Hutchinson Center houses the group overseeing data analysis for the effort. The $180 million, federally funded Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT) has enlisted more than 34,000 men through a network of 400 research sites in North America.
• The Hutchinson Center-based statistical center also played a key role in the nationwide, federally funded Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial, which found that a daily dose of the drug finasteride (Proscar) — long used to treat benign prostate enlargement and, in lower doses, baldness — significantly reduces a man's chance of developing prostate cancer.

Exploring the links between diet and cancer

Hutchinson Center scientists are learning how diet is linked to cancers of the prostate, breast and colon, among other diseases.

• Our researchers found that men who drink 4 or more glasses of red wine a week reduced their risk of prostate cancer by 50 percent. The protective effect was even greater against the most aggressive forms of the disease.
• Researchers are studying the link between dietary fat, excess calcium and prostate cancer. The study shows that fat and calcium may fuel its progression from localized to advanced disease. The men in the study whose dietary intake of fats made up no more than 30 percent of their daily calorie intake had half the risk of late-stage cancer compared with men who consumed more fat. However, there were no associations of fat intake with early stage disease.

Making PROGRESS against prostate cancer in African American men

• African American men have over a 60% higher chance of being diagnosed with prostate cancer than other ethnic groups, and are twice as likely to die from the disease.
• If your father or brother has had prostate cancer, you have over twice the risk of also developing the disease compared to men from families with no such family history.
• About 10% of all prostate cancers in the population are due to inherited (present at birth) mutations in susceptibility genes. The PROGRESS study aims to identify susceptibility genes for hereditary prostate cancer, which runs in families.

Who Can Join PROGRESS?
This is a family-based study. You and your family may be eligible if you have:

Two or more men related by blood who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and

At least two of these men are willing to participate.

All participants will be asked to complete a survey and blood draw. No exam is required.
Participants will receive $50.00 and all study related expenses will be covered.
For more information please contact us at: 1-800-777-3035 or progress@fhcrc.org

Read more at www.fhcrc.org/science/phs/progress_study/.

New ways to detect prostate cancer early

While almost all men diagnosed with early stage prostate cancer survive for more than five years, only 34 percent of men diagnosed after the disease has spread to distant organs are alive after five years, according to the American Cancer Society. Catching the disease early is key to survival and cure.

Our researchers:

• Were among the first to document the value of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) prostate-cancer screening test.
• Identified that roughly one-third of older men diagnosed with prostate cancer through a routine blood test are "overdiagnosed" with the disease, which could prompt unnecessary surgeries or other treatments.
• Are seeking to identify new, more accurate molecular warning signals that can tell doctors when patients are at the earliest stages of disease, and whether their disease is likely to spread. These molecules may also be targets for cancer-fighting drugs.

Understanding how and why prostate cancer spreads

Unlike most cancers, the rate of prostate cancer progression varies tremendously. In some men the cancer lies dormant for decades; in others it progresses rapidly. When prostate cancer spreads, it usually goes to the bones and produces a unique type of tumor.

To better understand how and why prostate cancer spreads, teams of Hutchinson Center and UW researchers:

• Learned that a certain mutation could be the reason why some prostate cancer patients have a form of the disease that is resistant to hormone-withdrawal therapy. This knowledge will help scientists develop more effective treatments for these patients.
• Lead a $12.7 million federally funded project to investigate prostate-cancer progression at the genetic level in the hopes of developing new therapies to treat men with recurrent or advanced prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is not an equal-opportunity disease

African-American men have the highest incidence rates of prostate cancer in the world and a death rate that is more than double that of white men, according to the American Cancer Society.

• A research team including a Hutchinson Center biostatistician discovered that African-American men with prostate cancer are half as likely as Caucasians to receive annual prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood tests to monitor their disease progression. The study of more than 650 prostate-cancer survivors was the first to document racial differences in the frequency of PSA-test surveillance.
• A new national church-based campaign called "SELECT Sunday" seeks to double participation of black men in the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial. The Hutchinson Center guides the data collection and analysis for the study, which seeks to determine whether certain dietary nutrients can reduce the incidence of prostate cancer.

Improving quality of life after prostate-cancer treatment

Traditional treatments for early stage, localized prostate cancer — prostate-removal surgery and radiation therapy — carry the risk of long-term side effects, from sexual impotence to urinary incontinence. Our researchers are working on improving quality of life for patients in several ways:

• They have shown that survival rates are comparable for the two major treatments for prostate cancer — radiation and prostate-removal surgery. This knowledge allows men to base their treatment decisions on potential side effects and quality of life issues.
• Our investigators completed the first comprehensive study of sexual and urinary function among men who underwent radical prostatectomy for early-stage cancer. They found the impotence rate among these men was much higher than previously reported. The team also showed that radiation therapy is better for avoiding urinary incontinence and impotence, but surgery is better for avoiding complications of bowel function.
• In 2000, UW surgeon Dr. Paul Lange led the first surgical team in the Northwest to perform a nerve-grafting procedure to help men avoid one of the greatest risks of prostate-cancer surgery: sexual impotence. The procedure, which involves grafting nerves from the leg into the pelvic area, currently is performed at fewer than a half dozen sites nationwide.

Articles Related to Prostate Cancer and Prostate Cancer Information

• Findings on finasteride — SWOG, PHS lead study to determine prostate-cancer prevention drug's impact on survival for men age 55 and older
  
  
• PHS study finds ethnic differences in treatment of prostate cancer — African Americans with early stage cancer less likely to receive aggressive hormone therapy than Caucasians
  
  
• Prostate-cancer driver revealed — Greenberg lab study opens door to development of more effective therapies for prostate cancer resistant to hormone withdrawal
  
  
• Improving early detection of prostate cancer — Ruth Etzioni’s study is first to formally evaluate the combined PSA test’s ability to distinguish between true cancers and benign conditions
  
  
• A glass a day may keep prostate cancer away — New PHS study shows moderate red-wine consumption may help reduce prostate-cancer risk
  
  
• Inhibiting cancer’s spread — Human Biology Division study reveals protein that drives metastasis of prostate cancer, yields insight into potential therapies to block spread
  
  

Search for More Publications Related to Prostate Cancer »