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.

Study Examines Results After Prostatectomy for Men With 2 Risk Factors—Being Black and Having Obesity

“Being Black and having obesity are both linked to prostate cancer. However, nearly all studies of prostate cancer and obesity have been performed in White men. As such, whether Black race and obesity work synergistically to create a more aggressive cancer is largely unknown. My lab is currently using a large Veterans Affairs database, which includes millions of men with prostate cancer, to learn if obesity and race interact to affect low- vs. high-grade prostate cancer.”—Adriana Vidal, PhD

See the highlight about Dr. Vidal'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.

Study Finds That Enhancing Certain Immune Cells’ Toxicity in Bone May Present a New Treatment Option for Bone Metastatic Prostate Cancer

“Prostate cancer spreads to bone more frequently than to any other place in the body. One type of immune cell, called neutrophils, are generated in bone and have been shown to be important in cancer. My research team predicted that these neutrophils contribute to the cancer’s progression, and we found that neutrophils protect against prostate cancer growth in bone. Current T-cell based immunotherapies for treating prostate cancer have been mostly unsuccessful. The main goal of my research is to identify new immunotherapeutic strategies for treating and curing bone metastatic prostate cancer.”—Leah Cook, PhD

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

Tests Using Heart Medicines in Mice May Spur Future Treatments for Men with Prostate Cancer

The Schlaepfer Lab reported findings in a recently published study about using mice with prostate cancer to study the use of ranolazine, a heart drug to ease chest pain (angina), against prostate cancer. They provided evidence that the drug blocks the growth of prostate cancer in mice by blocking the metabolism of fat, which decreases its use as a tumor “food source.”

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