Of mice and men...with prostate cancer

[Guest guest]

[healthiernews.com]

 

Of mice and men...with prostate cancer

 

Researchers at the University of Southern California have developed a

new prostate cancer vaccine that's been shown to prevent the disease in

90 percent of mice that were genetically modified to contract it.

 

Which is really great news if you're a mouse who's been genetically

modified to contract prostate cancer.

 

But scientists plan to eventually use this on men with elevated PSA

levels. Their hope is that the new vaccine will be as effective in

humans as it is in mice.

 

Which would also be great news, except the PSA is as accurate for

predicting cancer as the Weather Channel is for predicting winning

lottery numbers.

 

You see, PSA stands for prostate specific antigen. It's a chemical

marker found in the blood and for decades the mainstream has been using

it as the gold standard for predicting and detecting prostate cancer.

 

A PSA reading over 4.0 is considered worrisome. While a reading of 10 or

more practically guarantees you a painful biopsy.

 

However, more recent studies have shown that, as standards of disease

prediction go, the PSA wouldn't even take the bronze, let alone the

gold. In fact, a digital rectal exam, in and of itself, could

temporarily raise one's PSA levels.

 

So, it's probably not too shocking to learn that two out of three men

with elevated PSAs have biopsies that turn up nothing.

 

There is a far more accurate way of predicting prostate cancer (as well

as other cancers), called the AMAS (anti-malignen antibody in serum)

test.

And it's been proven to be over 90 percent accurate. However, for

whatever reason, it's been slow to catch on in mainstream medicine.

 

That's not to completely undermine the value of this discovery. As it

happens, only two out of 20 genetically modified mice that received the

vaccine developed cancer at the end of a year. While every mouse in the

control group had died.

 

Pretty impressive really.

 

However, the fact that genetically modified mice do not always respond

comparably to humans, aside. There is one other drawback to this

discovery.

 

The two-stage vaccination actually uses a DNA fragment coded to alert

immune cells to attack a protein found in prostate cancer cells. So

there is a concern that the DNA fragment could mutate and make the

immune system attack healthy cells as well.

 

In essence, replacing prostate cancer with an auto-immune disorder.

 

And, although this kind of response was not seen in the mouse

experiment, it's still a very real concern. Especially once it's

translated into a human study where, I can only hope, they won't be

genetically modifying men to contract prostate cancer first...

 

....but stranger things have happened. I'll be sure to keep you posted.

 

Yours in good health,

Allan Spreen, M.D.

Chief Research Advisor

NorthStar Nutritionals [An affiliate of HSI-Baltimore]

 

It's Good to Know

 

When it comes to prostate cancer, the " old " tactic of watchful waiting

may actually be the way to go.

 

In a recent study of approximately 9,000 men -- half of which were over

75 -- who chose to delay treatment, or skip it altogether, only 10

percent had died from the disease a decade later.

 

Since prostate cancer tends to progress very slowly, often times the

outcomes of its treatment (impotence and incontinence are the biggies)

are far worse than symptoms of the disease itself.

 

Study leader, Grace Lu-Yao, of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New

Jersey noted that, since treatments tend to be toughest on older men,

those with early-stage cancers are the best candidates for skipping or

delaying treatment.

 

However, she said, " If people are younger or have more advanced disease,

I wouldn't say this is a safe option. "

 

Of course, in conclusion, my suggestion would be work with your doctor

to decide what's best for you. But don't be afraid to get a second or

even a third opinion if you feel his approach is more aggressive than

you're comfortable with.