A London study has found that that ultrasound used to destroy prostate cancer does so without side affects or residual damage to surrounding tissue.

The experimental procedure called High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (Hifu) to destroy tumours in what they called the “male lumpectomy”.

According to researchers;

None of the 41 men had incontinence, and only 10% had impotence, according to results in the journal Lancet Oncology.
Dr Hashim Ahmed of University College London Hospital said: “Our results are very encouraging.
“We’re optimistic that men diagnosed with prostate cancer may soon be able to undergo a day case surgical procedure, which can be safely repeated once or twice, to treat their condition with very few side effects.
“That could mean a significant improvement in their quality of life.”
The doctors used high resolution MRI scans of the men’s prostates to map the precise location of the tumours.

In the news recently Warren Buffet has announced that he has stage 1 prostate cancer and will undergo surgery with radiation.

It is estimated that 30-40 percent of men over 50 years old will be affected by prostate cancer, however, there is some debate in the medical community regarding which course of action is best going forward.

Routine monitoring of PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) may reveal false- positive, and positive results which may later lead to unnecessary and often harmful treatment.

Elevated levels of this protein can indicate prostate cancer, but it can be caused by other things as well..

Several studies have suggested many men are over-screened for prostate cancer, and this over-screening has in many cases caused more harm than good, leading men to chose a biopsy and treatment for a slow-growing cancer that may have never caused them harm during their lifetimes.

Alternative strategies for men with low-risk prostate cancer typically fall into two camps: observation with and without the intent to cure.

Do get a second opinion when treating your condition and consult your physician for the best course of action for your case.

Men who receive a diagnosis of prostate cancer are faced with a frightening array of options.

To live with cancer might seem to be unthinkable, however, in light of the alternatives a slow growing cancer may be easier to live with than the side effects of cancer treatment and in the worse case, death from infection and other surgical complications.

Many men who agree to a PSA test do not understand what it is. Some common misconceptions:

— It shows cancer. In fact, PSA is just a measure of inflammation, and it can be elevated for many reasons besides cancer: normal enlargement of the prostate with age, an infection, even recent sex, a strenuous bike ride or horseback riding.

— It’s been proven to save lives. Only two large, well-done studies have looked at this, the task force says. The American study found annual screening did not lower the chances of dying of prostate cancer. However, cancer fear is so great, and belief in the value of screening so ingrained, that half the men assigned to the group not offered PSA tests got one anyway. That made comparisons to the group given annual screening difficult. For that reason, some doctors don’t believe the study’s conclusion.
The other study, conducted in Europe, found a small benefit for certain age groups screened every two to seven years — not annually. However, one Swedish center had such rosy results that scientists think it may have biased the whole study. If that center is excluded, no benefit from the PSA test is seen.

— The task force’s stance goes against past advice. Routine PSA testing has been supported by some advocacy groups and by urologists, the doctors who do the tests and treatments. But it has not been pushed by major scientific groups, the American Cancer Society or the government.

— It finds cancer early so you’re more likely to survive. About 90 percent of prostate cancers found through screening are early-stage. Most will grow so slowly they will never threaten a man’s life, but there’s no good way to tell which ones will. Research suggests that tumors causing symptoms are more likely to warrant treatment than those that are not. Also, finding aggressive prostate tumors early may not affect how lethal they prove to be; the PSA test may just let men learn of them sooner than they otherwise would.

According to a new study from University of Michigan discover how prostate cancer cells spread to the bones. Science offers hope for the treatment of prostate cancer

So why does cancer recur? Say a person has a tumor and surgeons cut it out or do radiation, but it recurs in the bone marrow five years later, Taichman said. Those cancer cells had been circulating in the body well before the tumor was discovered, and one place those cancer cells hid is the niche.

“So what have the cancer cells been doing during those five years? Now we have a partial answer — they’ve been sitting in this place whose job it is to keep things from proliferating and growing,” Taichman said.

“Our work also provides an explanation as to why current chemotherapies often fail in that once cancer cells enter the niche, most likely they stop proliferating,” said Yusuke Shiozawa, lead author of the study. “The problem is that most of the drugs we use to try to treat cancer only work on cells that are proliferating.”