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Journal of Cancer Prevention Jun 2019Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men worldwide. There are many occupational factors that have been suggested to cause prostate cancer. Our aim was to... (Review)
Review
Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men worldwide. There are many occupational factors that have been suggested to cause prostate cancer. Our aim was to evaluate the evidence for causality by a literature review of occupational factors. We searched literature in Medline and SCOPUS from 1966 to June 30, 2015 to identify occupational risk factors for prostate cancer. The following risk factors were selected: farmers/agricultural workers, pesticides - whole group, and separately organophosphate and organochlorine pesticides, carbamates and triazines, cadmium, chromium, cutting fluids, acrylonitrile, rubber manufacturing, whole body vibration, shift work, flight personnel, ionizing radiation, and occupational physical activity. For each factor a literature search was performed and presented as meta-analysis of relative risk and heterogeneity (Q and I index). A total of 168 original studies met the inclusion criteria with 90,688 prostate cancer cases. Significantly increased risks were observed for the following occupational exposures: pesticides (metaRR = 1.15, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.01-1.32; I = 84%), and specifically group of organochlorine pesticides (meta relative risk [metaRR] = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.03-1.14; I = 0%), chromium (metaRR = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.07-1.34; I = 31%), shift work (metaRR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.05-1.49; I = 78%) and pilots (metaRR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.02-1.94; I = 63%) and occupational physical activity in cohort studies (metaRR = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.81-0.94; I = 0%). The literature review supports a causal association for a few of the previously suggested factors.
PubMed: 31360689
DOI: 10.15430/JCP.2019.24.2.91 -
Pharmaceutics Mar 2021Prostate cancer (PCa) is the fifth cause of tumor-related deaths in man worldwide. Despite the considerable improvement in the clinical management of PCa, several... (Review)
Review
Prostate cancer (PCa) is the fifth cause of tumor-related deaths in man worldwide. Despite the considerable improvement in the clinical management of PCa, several limitations emerged both in the screening for early diagnosis and in the medical treatment. The use of prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based screening resulted in patients' overtreatment and the standard therapy of patients suffering from locally advanced/metastatic tumors (e.g., radical prostatectomy, radiotherapy, and androgen deprivation therapy) showed time-limited efficacy with patients undergoing progression toward the lethal metastatic castration-resistant PCa (mCRPC). Although valuable alternative therapeutic options have been recently proposed (e.g., docetaxel, cabazitaxel, abiraterone, enzalutamide, and sipuleucel-T), mCRPC remains incurable. Based on this background, there is an urgent need to identify new and more accurate prostate-specific biomarkers for PCa diagnosis and prognosis and to develop innovative medical approaches to counteract mCRPC. In this context, microRNA (miRNAs) emerged as potential biomarkers in prostate tissues and biological fluids and appeared to be promising therapeutic targets/tools for cancer therapy. Here we overview the recent literature and summarize the achievements of using miRNAs as biomarkers and therapeutic targets/tools for fighting PCa.
PubMed: 33805590
DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics13030380 -
Topics in Companion Animal Medicine Dec 2018In last years, following the increased canine life expectancy and the rising attention pet-owners devote to their animals, several authors have carried on investigations... (Review)
Review
In last years, following the increased canine life expectancy and the rising attention pet-owners devote to their animals, several authors have carried on investigations concerning new techniques to early identify canine prostatic disorders that might affect the dog's quality of life. Prostatic disorders often have an asymptomatic onset and their early diagnosis is difficult: hence, they are usually identified at an advanced stage, only. Traditionally, the diagnosis of prostatic disorders is based on noninvasive tools, such as transrectal and abdominal palpation, seminal or prostatic fluid evaluation, and urinalysis and imaging. On the other hand, a definite diagnosis of prostatic abnormalities could be achieved through prostatic parenchyma Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) or biopsy. However, these investigations are performed rarely because of their invasiveness. Thus, several authors investigated canine serum biomarkers in order to achieve an earlier diagnostic timing and to apply therapeutic strategies for better outcomes. The Canine Prostatic Specific Esterase (CPSE) has been identified as a suitable biomarker to be included in a prostate health screening program, following the model of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in human medicine. A higher CPSE in dogs suffering from several prostatic diseases, such as benign prostatic hyperplasia, bacterial prostatitis, or prostatic carcinoma, was reported in literature. Thanks to the potential usefulness in clinical practice, further studies should investigate the potential role of CPSE in monitoring the medical treatment success in the male reproductive system. Moreover, the spreading availability of serum biomarkers, easily carried out on blood samples in clinical practice, could assure a more accurate evaluation of the actual prevalence of prostatic disorders. The CPSE is actually recognized as a promising diagnostic tool for the detection of prostatic disorders in a "prostate health screening program," in order to properly select those patients requiring further more accurate and expensive diagnostic investigations.
Topics: Animals; Biomarkers; Dog Diseases; Dogs; Early Diagnosis; Esterases; Male; Prostate; Prostatic Diseases
PubMed: 30502858
DOI: 10.1053/j.tcam.2018.09.002 -
The Prostate Nov 2020Age-dependent increase in the incidence of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer (PCa) are both related to cell proliferation and survival controlled by... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Age-dependent increase in the incidence of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer (PCa) are both related to cell proliferation and survival controlled by intraprostatic free testosterone (FT) concentration. Paradoxically, BPH and PCa occur as circulating testosterone levels decrease, so any possible relationship between testosterone levels and development of BPH and PCa remains obscure.
RESULTS
In BPH the enlarging prostate is exposed to high testosterone levels arriving directly from the testes at concentrations about hundredfold higher than systemic FT. This occurs because venous blood from the testes is diverted into the prostate due to the elevated hydrostatic pressure of blood in the internal spermatic veins (ISVs). Elevated pressure is caused by the destruction of one-way valves (clinically detected as varicocele), a unique phenomenon related to human erect posture. While standing, human males are ISVs vertically oriented, resulting in high intraluminal hydrostatic pressures-a phenomenon not found in quadrupeds. In this communication, we demonstrate the fluid mechanics' phenomena at the basis of varicocele leading to prostate pathology.
CONCLUSIONS
So far, varicocele has been studied mostly for its etiologic role in male infertility and, thus, for its effects on the testes. It is becoming clear that varicocele is a major etiologic factor in BPH and likely also in PCa. Restoring normal testicular venous pressure by treatment of the abnormal ISV's in varicocele has been shown to avert the flow from the prostate with the effect of reducing prostate volume, alleviating symptoms of BPH, and increasing concentrations of circulating FT.
Topics: Humans; Hydrodynamics; Hydrostatic Pressure; Male; Posture; Prostate; Prostatic Hyperplasia; Testis; Testosterone; Varicocele
PubMed: 32833288
DOI: 10.1002/pros.24051 -
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces Jun 2023Prostate malignancy represents the second leading cause of cancer-specific death among the male population worldwide. Herein, enhanced intracellular magnetic fluid...
Prostate malignancy represents the second leading cause of cancer-specific death among the male population worldwide. Herein, enhanced intracellular magnetic fluid hyperthermia is applied to treat prostate cancer (PCa) cells with minimum invasiveness and toxicity and highly specific targeting. We designed and optimized novel shape-anisotropic magnetic core-shell-shell nanoparticles (i.e., trimagnetic nanoparticles - TMNPs) with significant magnetothermal conversion following an exchange coupling effect to an external alternating magnetic field (AMF). The functional properties of the best candidate in terms of heating efficiency (i.e., FeO@MnZnFeO@CoFeO) were exploited following surface decoration with PCa cell membranes (CM) and/or LN1 cell-penetrating peptide (CPP). We demonstrated that the combination of biomimetic dual CM-CPP targeting and AMF responsiveness significantly induces caspase 9-mediated apoptosis of PCa cells. Furthermore, a downregulation of the cell cycle progression markers and a decrease of the migration rate in surviving cells were observed in response to the TMNP-assisted magnetic hyperthermia, suggesting a reduction in cancer cell aggressiveness.
Topics: Male; Humans; Cell-Penetrating Peptides; Hyperthermia, Induced; Nanoparticles; Cell Membrane; Magnetic Fields; Prostatic Neoplasms; Magnetite Nanoparticles
PubMed: 37312240
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c07248 -
Critical Reviews in Oncology/hematology Sep 2019Liquid biopsy can quantify and qualify cell-free (cfDNA) and tumour-derived (ctDNA) DNA fragments in the bloodstream. CfDNA quantification and mutation analysis can be... (Review)
Review
Liquid biopsy can quantify and qualify cell-free (cfDNA) and tumour-derived (ctDNA) DNA fragments in the bloodstream. CfDNA quantification and mutation analysis can be applied to diagnosis, follow-up and therapeutic management as novel oncologic biomarkers. However, some tumor-types release a low amount of DNA into the bloodstream, hampering diagnosis through standard liquid biopsy procedures. Several tumors, as such as brain, kidney, prostate, and thyroid cancer, are in direct contact with other body fluids and may be alternative sources for cfDNA and ctDNA. Non-blood sources of cfDNA/ctDNA useful as novel oncologic biomarkers include cerebrospinal fluids, urine, sputum, saliva, pleural effusion, stool and seminal fluid. Seminal plasma cfDNA, which can be analyzed with cost-effective procedures, may provide powerful information capable to revolutionize prostate cancer (PCa) patient diagnosis and management. In the near future, cfDNA analysis from non-blood biological liquids will become routine clinical practice for cancer patient diagnosis and management.
Topics: Biomarkers, Tumor; Cell-Free Nucleic Acids; Circulating Tumor DNA; DNA Mutational Analysis; Feces; Female; Gene Expression Profiling; Humans; Liquid Biopsy; Male; Medical Oncology; Neoplasms; Pathology, Clinical; Prostatic Neoplasms; Urinalysis
PubMed: 31212145
DOI: 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2019.06.005 -
Cancer Journal (Sudbury, Mass.)The advent of high-throughput technologies has enabled the analysis of minute amounts of tumor-derived material purified from body fluids, termed "liquid biopsies."... (Review)
Review
The advent of high-throughput technologies has enabled the analysis of minute amounts of tumor-derived material purified from body fluids, termed "liquid biopsies." Prostate cancer (PCa) management, like in many other cancer types, has benefited from liquid biopsies at several stages of the disease. Although initially describing circulating tumor cells in blood, the term "liquid biopsy" has come to more prominently include cell-free, circulating tumor DNA, as well as RNA, proteins, and other molecules. They provide tumor molecular information representing the entire, often-heterogeneous disease, relatively noninvasively and longitudinally. Blood has been the main liquid biopsy specimen in PCa, and urine has also proven beneficial. Technological advances have allowed clinical implementation of some liquid biopsies in PCa, in disease monitoring and precision oncology. This narrative review introduces the main types of blood-based PCa liquid biopsies focusing on advances in the past 5 years. Clinical adoption of liquid biopsies to detect and monitor the evolving PCa tumor biology promises to deepen our understanding of the disease and improve patient outcomes.
Topics: Male; Humans; Precision Medicine; Prostatic Neoplasms; Liquid Biopsy; Biopsy; RNA; Biomarkers, Tumor; Neoplastic Cells, Circulating
PubMed: 37471612
DOI: 10.1097/PPO.0000000000000672 -
Reviews in Urology 2017Prostate cancer screening and diagnosis has been guided by prostate-specific antigen levels for the past 25 years, but with the most recent US Preventive Services Task... (Review)
Review
Prostate cancer screening and diagnosis has been guided by prostate-specific antigen levels for the past 25 years, but with the most recent US Preventive Services Task Force screening recommendations, as well as concerns regarding overdiagnosis and overtreatment, a new wave of prostate cancer biomarkers has recently emerged. These assays allow the testing of urine, serum, or prostate tissue for molecular signs of prostate cancer, and provide information regarding both diagnosis and prognosis. In this review, we discuss 12 commercially available biomarker assays approved for the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. The results of clinical validation studies and clinical decision-making studies are presented. This information is designed to assist urologists in making clinical decisions with respect to ordering and interpreting these tests for different patients. There are numerous fluid and biopsy-based genomic tests available for prostate cancer patients that provide the physician and patient with different information about risk of future disease and treatment outcomes. It is important that providers be able to recommend the appropriate test for each individual patient; this decision is based on tissue availability and prognostic information desired. Future studies will continue to emphasize the important role of genomic biomarkers in making individualized treatment decisions for prostate cancer patients.
PubMed: 29472826
DOI: 10.3909/riu0772 -
Cancers Jul 2022Although appreciable attempts in screening and diagnostic approaches have been achieved, prostate cancer (PCa) remains a widespread malignancy, representing the second... (Review)
Review
Although appreciable attempts in screening and diagnostic approaches have been achieved, prostate cancer (PCa) remains a widespread malignancy, representing the second leading cause of cancer-related death in men. Drugs currently used in PCa therapy initially show a potent anti-tumor effect, but frequently induce resistance and PCa progresses toward metastatic castration-resistant forms (mCRPC), virtually incurable. Liquid biopsy has emerged as an attractive and promising strategy complementary to invasive tissue biopsy to guide PCa diagnosis and treatment. Liquid biopsy shows the ability to represent the tumor microenvironment, allow comprehensive information and follow-up the progression of the tumor, enabling the development of different treatment strategies as well as permitting the monitoring of therapy response. Liquid biopsy, indeed, is endowed with a significant potential to modify PCa management. Several blood biomarkers could be analyzed for diagnostic, prognostic and predictive purposes, including circulating tumor cells (CTCs), extracellular vesicles (EVs), circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and RNA (ctRNA). In addition, several other body fluids may be adopted (i.e., urine, sperm, etc.) beyond blood. This review dissects recent advancements and future perspectives of liquid biopsies, highlighting their strength and weaknesses in PCa management.
PubMed: 35805043
DOI: 10.3390/cancers14133272 -
Urology Case Reports Sep 2023A 25 year old male presented with several weeks of fevers and testicular pain. Workup demonstrated scrotal and prostatic abscesses. Fluid from these following surgical...
A 25 year old male presented with several weeks of fevers and testicular pain. Workup demonstrated scrotal and prostatic abscesses. Fluid from these following surgical drainage revealed Blastomyces dermatitidis. He was treated with 12 months of oral anti-fungal therapy and repeat Blastomyces urine antigen was negative at follow up. While disseminated blastomycosis most commonly presents with pulmonary and cutaneous manifestations, genitourinary symptoms are rarely seen, but important to consider.
PubMed: 37455778
DOI: 10.1016/j.eucr.2023.102489