| Low-Carb Diet May Slow Prostate Tumor Growth
TUESDAY, Nov. 13 (HealthDay News) -- In mice, a low-carbohydrate diet slowed prostate tumor growth, possibly because fewer carbohydrates leads to a drop in insulin production, U.S. researchers say. "This study showed that cutting carbohydrates may slow tumor growth, at least in mice. If this is ultimately confirmed in human clinical trials, it has huge implications for prostate cancer therapy through something that all of us can controls, our diets," lead researcher Dr. Stephen Freedland, a urologist at Duke University Medical Center, said in a prepared statement. Previous studies linked insulin and a related substance called insulin-like growth factor (IGF) with the growth of prostate tumors in mice. Freedland and his colleagues theorized that reducing levels of these substances might slow prostate tumor growth.
Stephen Stills Fights Prostate Cancer
Music legend Stephen Stills, of Crosby, Stills & Nash fame, has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Stills friend and fellow musician Graham Nash announced the news on Larry King's CNN talk-show. Nash phoned into the show to pay tribute to another friend, singer/songwriter Dan Fogelberg who died of the disease earlier this week. Nash told King in a matter of fact manner "Unlike Danny, who left it too long to be seriously checked, Stephen found his at an early stage." It is unknown at this stage if Nash's announcement about Still was a slip of the tongue. Stills had not announced that he had the disease at that point. King had to ask a number of times if by Stephen he was talking about Stephen Stills and Nash confirmed that was who he meant.
Simple Genetic Test For Prostate Cancer May Soon Be Available
Men with susceptibility for prostate cancer will soon be identifiable through a simple DNA test. So hope scientists at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet, who have shown that men carrying a combination of known risk genes run a four to five times higher risk of developing prostate cancer.
At present, men with suspected prostate cancer are identified mainly using what are known as PSA tests. However, the test has a relatively low sensitivity and better methods are needed.
"In the near future, it will be possible to combine PSA tests with simple genetic tests," says Professor Henrik Grönberg at Karolinska Institutet. "This means that fewer men will have to undergo unnecessary biopsies and that more prostate cancer diagnoses can be made."
It has long been known that prostate cancer is partly caused by inherited factors, which makes some men more likely to develop the disease than others.
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