Cancer Digest

Imaging technique may cut need for prostate biopsies

A prostate image generated with the
new technique. The red area

indicates the tumor.

SCIENCEDAILY – April 7, 2014 – Researchers in Amsterdam have patented a new ultrasound method that allows imaging of the prostate and the location of a tumor within the prostate if present. Ultrasound used for prenatal imaging is unable to show the difference between healthy tissue and tumor tissue. To distinguish tumor from healthy prostate, Dr. Massimo Mischi and colleagues at the Technische Universiteit, Eindhoven used the fact that tumor tissue produces large numbers of small blood vessels to allow it to grow with a characteristic pattern. In the study, 24 patients were given a single injection of a contrast medium containing tiny bubbles, which are shown by the ultrasound scanner right down to the smallest blood vessels. Using advanced image-analysis techniques that can recognize the characteristic blood vessel pattern in tumors, a computer then generates an image showing where the tumor is. The examination only takes one minute, and the results are available no more than a few minutes later. The researchers will present their findings at the European Assocation of Urologists Congress in Stockholm on April 14.

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Improving the PSA test

LIVE SCIENCE – April 8, 2014 – Adding three blood markers for prostate cancer could significantly increase the accuracy of the PSA test, Dr. Kailash Chadha of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY  reported at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) meeting this week in San Diego. The study involving 46 men looked at three proteins in the blood called ctyokines, in addition to prostate specific antigen (PSA). Chadha said the added blood markers significantly increased the accuracy of detecting prostate cancer and reduced the “false positive” rate from 32 percent with the PSA alone to 9 percent. The new test will need additional larger studies to validate it.  

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