Millions of men over age 50 rely on the prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, test each year in screenings for prostate cancer. In October Stanford University urologist Thomas A. Stamey made headlines when he declared that the test is not a reliable predictor of cancer.

Back in 1987, Stamey was among the first to suggest that the level of PSA, a protein normally produced by the prostate gland, might be useful in detecting prostate cancer. But based on an analysis of more than 1,300 prostates removed over the past 20 years, Stamey reported in the October issue of the Journal of Urology that the PSA test is currently predictive of cancer in only 2 percent of cases. Because of the increase in screening and detection of prostate cancer over the past two decades, he now says a higher PSA level may most often reflect a harmless age-related increase in prostate size. [Read More]

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British scientists say eating broccoli can reduce the risk of men developing prostate cancer.

The British Institute of Food Research found eating broccoli makes developing prostate cancer less likely, and helps men fight an existing cancerous tumour.

But some experts are warning against men putting too much faith in the study.

The Australian Cancer Council has welcomed the report but chief executive Ian Oliver says the research was based on an extremely small sample group.

"The study is only very small so I don't think that we can say that one causes the other at the moment," he said.

"But it adds to the evidence that eating fresh fruit and vegetables in general may reduce cancer risk." Read More

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If Ever Men Needed a Good Reason to Lose Excess Weight – - Guys, This Is It…

In a study of 535 men in a free prostate cancer screening program, researchers found that obese men were more likely to have relatively low levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA), even when their prostate findings were abnormal.

PSA levels in the blood typically rise when a man has prostate cancer, so PSA testing is often used to screen for the disease. Men with a high PSA level can then have further testing to get a definitive diagnosis.

The new findings, published in the journal Urology, suggest that because obese men's PSA levels tend to be relatively low in general, some cancers may be missed or not detected promptly. Read More

You should also check out The Prostate Information Center

Vitamin E Appears to Reduce the Risk Of  Prostate Cancer

High blood levels of either alpha-tocopherol or gamma-tocopherol, both forms of vitamin E, appeared to halve the risk of prostate cancer in a new analysis of the ATBC trial, which supports earlier results showing that the vitamin protects against the cancer, writes Dominique Patton.

Men with the highest levels of alpha-tocopherol in their blood at baseline were 51 per cent less likely to develop prostate cancer than those with the lowest levels, they reported in yesteday’s issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (vol 97, no 5, pp396-399).

Similarly, men with the highest levels of gamma-tocopherol were 43 per cent less likely to develop the disease compared with men with the lowest levels.

“Further analyses indicated that the association of high serum tocopherols with low prostate cancer risk was stronger in the alpha-tocopherol–supplemented group than in those not receiving alpha-tocopherol,” note the authors.

Vitamin E is thought to fight cancer through its antioxidant activity, which combats the oxidative stress involved in cancer development. It also has other non-antioxidant properties, such as enhancement of the immune response, which may also play a role in the benefits seen.

In addition, the levels of vitamin E levels seen among the participants could be considered low and did not necessarily demonstrate support for gamma-tocopherol.

Gamma-tocopherol, found naturally in walnuts, sesame seeds and corn, was found to hold back the proliferation of lab-cultured human prostate and lung cancer cells in research at Purdue University published in December.

Previous research by the same team found that gamma-tocopherol inhibits inflammation, which had already been implicated in cancer development.

The highest tertile of alpha-tocopherol levels in the study were 15.78mg and the highest tertile of gamma-tocopherol was 1.08mg.

Vitamin E researchers are eagerly awaiting results form the Select trial, looking at whether high dose (400mg) alpha-tocopherol supplements can protect against prostate cancer. If these results fail to confirm the ATBC findings, new research will have to look at the role of dosages on cancer protection.

For more information see this prostate health website