Prostate Cancer

Men at an above-normal risk of prostate cancer may be able to reduce their risk of developing the disease by taking a drug already on the market. In research reported Wednesday, the drug dutasteride, currently used to shrink enlarged prostates, was found to reduce the risk of prostate cancer by about a quarter in high-risk men. The medication, sold under the brand name Avodart, apparently caused small tumors to stop growing or even to shrink, researchers...

Free prostate cancer screenings will be offered at a National City hospital next month, officials announced Wednesday. The screenings, open to men of all ages, will be given from noon to 2 p.m. Oct. 7 and from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 8 at Paradise Valley Hospital. Telephone 479-2442 for appointments. This year, about 35,000 American men will die of prostate cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. An additional 130,000 to 150,000 cases are expected to be diagnosed.

Federal regulators Monday approved the first new drug to treat prostate cancer in four years. The injectable treatment from privately held Ferring Pharmaceuticals fights the cancer by lowering levels of testosterone, which promotes the growth of tumors in the prostate. Food and Drug Administration officials said older drugs in the same class could actually increase testosterone production before they began lowering it.

The rate of prostate cancer has fallen sharply among American white men and has nearly leveled off for black men. An analysis of data found rates dropped 16% among white males from 1992 to 1993, and rose 2%, a near stable rate, for black males, according to a report in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. From 1989 to 1992, prostate cancer rates increased more than 60% for white and black men. Ray M.

Prostate cancer, the most commonly diagnosed cancer among U.S. men, will be discussed during a free lecture at the Aspen Education Center on Wednesday evening. Dr. Thomas Fogel of the Simi Valley Radiation Oncology Medical Group will speak about this form of cancer and the latest techniques available to treat it. The average prostate cancer patient is older than 60. By age 75, one in seven men will have it. African American men are about 33% more likely to develop the disease than white men.

News Corp. confirmed Monday that its chairman, Rupert Murdoch, has prostate cancer and will receive radiation therapy in a month. Murdoch, 69, found out about the disease during routine medical tests last week in Los Angeles. News Corp. said the cancer is "low grade," and Murdoch's prognosis is very good, requiring no change in his work schedule. "The treatment will last several weeks and his doctors are confident it will eliminate the problem," News Corp. officials said.

Re: "Act? Wait? It Can Be Your Choice" [July 3]: You should consider amending your message so that men are encouraged to seek the best treatment option to assure survival. Your dialogue about the rumored "bad side effects" of prostate cancer treatment seem to emphasize to younger men that their sex life will be over, or they might be incontinent -- the wrong message. When cancer is detected via biopsy, or indicated with a suddenly elevated PSA reading, this is surely a cause for alarm.