A prostate-specific antigen doubling time (PSA-DT) of less than 3 months after treatment is associated with an increased risk of death from prostate cancer, according to a new study. Anthony V. D'Amico, M.D., Ph.D., of the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and his colleagues examined time to prostate cancer-specific mortality among 8,669 patients with localized or locally advanced prostate cancer who were treated with either surgery or radiation therapy. Patients whose PSA levels doubled in less than 3 months had a nearly 20-fold increase in risk of death from prostate cancer and a nearly 7-fold increase in risk of death from any cause. "We recommend that consideration be given to initiating androgen suppression therapy at the time of a PSA-defined recurrence," the authors conclude.

Contact: Amy Dayton, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 617-534-1600, adayton2@partners.org.

Study Examines Risk Factors for Esophageal and Gastric Cancers

A new study suggests that a few risk factors account for a majority of esophageal and gastric cancers in the general population. These factors include smoking, being overweight, having gastroesophageal reflux (acid reflux), and consuming low amounts of fruits and vegetables. The study was conducted by Lawrence S. Engel, Ph.D., now at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, and his colleagues and involved 1143 patients with esophageal or gastric cancers and 695 healthy controls. "The rapid increase in the incidence of esophageal and gastric cardia adenocarcinomas appears to result from increases in the prevalence of several modifiable and interrelated risk factors," the authors conclude. "Efforts to reduce the prevalence of being overweight, having gastroesophageal reflux, and smoking and to improve diet could reverse this troubling cancer trend."

Contact: Joanne
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Contact: Linda Wang
jncimedia@oupjournals.org
301-841-1287
Journal of the National Cancer Institute
16-Sep-2003