U.S. cancer screening trial shows no mortality benefit through 10 years of study from annual prostate cancer screening

Six annual screenings for prostate cancer led to more diagnoses of the disease, but not fewer prostate cancer deaths, according to a major new report from the national Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial. The results were reported March 18, 2009 in the online version of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). Masonic Cancer Center researcher Timothy R. Church, Ph.D., is the principal investigator for the PLCO trial at the University of Minnesota, which enrolled 17,099 men, making it the largest of 10 sites in the United States. Read more.

A powerful look at prostate cancer

Masonic Cancer Center researcher Greg Metzger, Ph.D., is studying the use of high-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine the location, extent, and aggressiveness of prostate cancer. Metzger's study is designed to find out how much information 3 Tesla (3T) MRI can add to cancer management. To do this, Metzger is imaging men with prostate cancer who are scheduled to have their prostate removed, then comparing the MRI results with samples from the actual organ tissue. This will show whether MRI can predict the location and extent of the cancer. The ultimate goal, Metzger says, is to develop a noninvasive way to help determine the stage of the cancer. Read more.

McCarthy receives $2.6 million grant for prostate cancer research

James McCarthy, Ph.D., leader the Masonic Cancer Center's Tumor Biology and Progression Research Program, was awarded a $2.6 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to identify new tumor targets that can be used to stop the growth and spread of prostate cancer in patients diagnosed with the disease. Masonic Cancer Center researcher Stephen Schmechel, M.D., Ph.D., also will work on this five-year project.
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Dehm receives Young Investigator Award

Masonic Cancer Center researcher Scott Dehm, Ph.D., received the Young Investigator Award for 2008 from the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Dehm is one of only 19 researchers in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom selected to receive this award. He will use his share of the award, totaling $225,000, to continue his research on how to block the progression of prostate cancer that has recurred and is resistant to conventional treatments. Read more.

Lu awarded research grant to study herbal compound for prostate cancer prevention

Junxuan Johnny Lu, Ph.D., Masonic Cancer Center researcher and professor and section leader of cancer biology at the The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota, was awarded a $1.5 million grant to study an Oriental herbal compound that may help prevent prostate cancer. Read more

Researchers study kava's chemopreventative qualities against prostate cancer

Based on epidemiological information about cancer incidence in the South Pacific Islands and the relative amount of kava consumption there, researchers in the Masonic Cancer Center's Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention Research Program are investigating how kava may be an effective chemopreventive agent against various types of cancer, including lung, colorectal, and prostate.