| H.I.V. Prevention Gel Hits Snag: Money Donors have not yet committed enough money for studies needed to confirm a promising South African trial of a microbicide and to get the product to women. feeds.nytimes.com |
Prostate cancer deaths could be cut with blood test at 60 Single test could pinpoint those men most likely to develop and die from diseaseA single blood test for men aged 60 could identify those most likely to develop and die from prostate cancer, new research suggests.Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, with 35,000 in the UK diagnosed every year, according to the Office for National Statistics.Screening is used in certain countries, but remains open to debate with experts weighing up the benefits of screening against the potential harms and costs of over-diagnosis and over-treatment of healthy men.Prostate cancer can develop when cells in the prostate gland start to grow in an uncontrolled way.The findings in the British Medical Journal suggested the single test could pinpoint which men needed to be monitored closely and others who needed no further checks.Professor Philipp Dahm and colleagues at the University of Florida reviewed six previous screening trials involving 387,286 participants.They found routine screening aided the diagnosis of prostate cancer at an earlier stage, but did not have a significant impact on death rates and raised the risk of over-treatment.A second study headed by Professor Hans Lilja, showed a single "prostate-specific antigen" (PSA) level test at age 60 strongly predicted a man's risk of diagnosis and death from prostate cancer.The team found 90% of prostate cancer deaths occurred in men with the highest PSA levels at age 60, while men with average or low PSA levels had negligible rates of prostate cancer or death by age 85.The findings suggested at least half of men aged 60 and above might be exempted from further prostate cancer screening.Gerald Andriole, chief of urologic surgery at Washington University School of Medicine, suggested PSA testing should be geared to individual risk.He recommended that young men at high risk of prostate cancer, for example those with a strong family history, should be monitored closely, while elderly men and those with a low risk of disease could be tested less often.Prostate cancerCancerMedical researchCancerHealthguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Man convicted of DUI crash that killed pitcher By AMY TAXIN 2010-09-28T08:01:46ZSANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) -- Parents of victims wept as guilty verdicts were read for a construction worker accused of killing promising Los Angeles Angels rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart and two of his friends in a drunken-driving crash.... hosted.ap.org |
Lovesick humpback beats long-distance record A humpback whale has broken the world record for travel by any mammal, swimming at least 9,800 kilometres from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean in search of a mate, marine biologists said. abc.net.au |
Sea ice melting as Arctic temperature rises By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID 2010-10-21T18:56:03ZWASHINGTON (AP) -- The temperature is rising again in the Arctic, with the sea ice extent dropping to one of the lowest levels on record, climate scientists reported Thursday.... hosted.ap.org |