Prostate Cancer Research Highlights

Study Shows Prostate Cancer Survivors Who Eat More Chicken and Less Steak May Live Longer

A CPS-II Nutrition Cohort Study

“The majority of men diagnosed with prostate cancer can survive over 10 years, and they want to know if adopting a healthy lifestyle, including a healthy diet, can increase their future years. Because there is limited research on diet among prostate cancer survivors, we studied data from the CPS-II Nutrition Cohort and found additional evidence that prostate cancer survivors should follow the ACS Nutrition Guidelines for Cancer Prevention, which advises limiting red and processed meat consumption to improve overall survival.”—Ying Wang, PhD

See the highlight about Dr. Wang's published study on diet and prostate cancer.

Study Finds that After a Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer, Men Who Have Obesity or Who Gain More than 10 Pounds Are More Likely to Die from All Causes

A CPS-II Nutrition Cohort Study

“Previous studies show that men with obesity may have a higher risk of developing advanced prostate cancer and of dying from it. My research team used data from the CPS-II Nutrition Cohort to see how weight increases after a diagnosis of prostate cancer affected the risk of dying. We found new evidence that men who’ve been diagnosed with prostate cancer should strive to maintain a healthy body weight to improve their survival.”—Ying Wang, PhD

See the highlight about Dr. Ying Wang's published study on weight gain in prostate cancer survivors.

2 Potential New Drug Pathways to a Prostate Cancer Target

“The protein EZH2 is highly expressed in aggressive forms of prostate cancer, and cancer cells without the EZH2 gene cannot survive. Many pharmaceutical companies are developing drugs that target the enzymatic function of the protein EZH2 to silence certain genes that drive cancer. However, this strategy does not work well in solid tumors, like prostate cancer. My investigations focus on the novel functions of EZH2 in prostate cancers in order to find new insights about developing drugs to target EZH2 protein.” – Qi Cao, PhD

See the highlight about Dr. Cao's published study.

Proton Beam Therapy for Prostate Cancer Still Needs Studying

“Current clinical trials are still evaluating whether proton beam radiotherapy targeted to the prostate is a superior way to treat cancer compared to the more traditional photon-based radiotherapy. Even so, one of the most common uses for proton beam radiotherapy in the US is to treat prostate cancer.

“The problem is that this care isn’t affordable for everyone. Public and private health insurance providers need medical evidence from clinical trials to cover a treatment’s costs. Yet, some people don't enroll in a clinical trial because their health insurance won't cover the treatment being studied. These inconsistencies in coverage for treatment not only limits enrollment in clinical trials but also results in racial disparities about who receives proton beam therapy for prostate cancer.

“We need clinical trials to fully understand the effectiveness of proton beam therapy for prostate cancer, and to get men to participate in them and to decrease racial disparities in access to quality and affordable care, it’s crucial for health insurance providers to adopt uniform criteria for covering its costs.”
—Leticia Nogueira, PhD, MPH

See the highlight about Dr. Nogueira's published study.

Study Finds Access to Medicaid Alone Does Not Improve the Diagnosis and Treatment of Prostate Cancer

“In my experience as a urologic oncologist, and from my research results, optimizing treatment of men with aggressive prostate cancer likely has to go beyond just granting basic health insurance coverage. We have to identify interventions, be it at the patient, provider, or policy level, that will break deeply ingrained barriers to providing equitable cancer care for underserved communities of people of color and those with a socioeconomic disadvantage.”—Christopher Filson, MD, MS

See the highlight about Dr. Filson's published study.

5 Years After Guidelines Recommend Against Routine Prostate Cancer Screening, Later Stage Cancers Continue to Increase—for Unknown Reasons

“It is yet to be seen whether the 2018 updated USPSTF recommendations for informed decision-making for PSA-based screening for men ages 55 to 69 years will lead to an increase in PSA testing and halt or reverse the rise in late-stage prostate cancer- incidence rates.”—Ahmedin Jemal, DVM, PhD

See the highlight about Dr. Jemal's published study.

We Fund Cancer Researchers Across the US

The American Cancer Society funds scientists who conduct research about cancer at medical schools, universities, research institutes, and hospitals throughout the United States. We use a rigorous and independent peer review process to select the most innovative research projects proposals to fund.