To better understand environmental and genetic impacts associated with prostate cancer in African American men, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) began a new study, Research on Prostate Cancer in Men of African Ancestry: Defining the Roles of Genetics, Tumor Markers, and Social Stress (RESPOND). The research program has received more than $26 million in funding and seeks to understand why African American men have disproportionally higher rates of aggressive prostate cancer than any other racial or ethnic population.

After years of decline, the death rate trend for prostate cancer has stabilized from 2013–2015, according to the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI’s) 2018 Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer.

On July 13, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved enzalutamide (Xtandi), for patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Breakthroughs and new treatments are moving faster than ever. Getting treatments approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is crucial whenever new options are making way to patients with cancer. In February 2018, the FDA approved apalutamide for the treatment of nonmetastatic prostate cancer that continues to grow despite treatment with hormone therapy, the first FDA-approved treatment for nonmetastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer.

On February 7, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved abiraterone acetate tablets in combination with prednisone for metastatic high-risk castration-sensitive prostate cancer (CSPC).

Taller men and those with a higher body mass index (BMI) may be at increased risk for high-grade prostate cancer and disease-related mortality, according to the results of a study published in BMC Medicine.

A new three-in-one blood test that analyzes cancer DNA in the bloodstream before and during treatment will allow providers to understand and track which patients are likely to benefit from treatment with olaparib, a PARP inhibitor. Additionally, researchers found which genetic mutations prostate cancers use to resist treatment with olaparib. The study was published in Cancer Discovery.

Technology can—at times—seem miraculous, especially as it evolves in healthcare settings. Simple technologic tools have been able to lower costs, increase efficiency, minimize delays in treatment times, and even provide new, lifesaving procedures for cancer treatment.

Men younger than 65 years who sleep less than six hours per night have an increased risk of death from prostate cancer, according to the results of a study presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 2017 annual meeting.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has issued new draft revisions for prostate cancer screening guidelines. In the draft, the USPSTF has changed its previous stance on prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening tests for men aged 55–69. The drafted guidelines now recommend PSA screening tests for men aged 55–69 based on individual assessment. The USPSTF has upgraded its recommendation from D to C, encouraging physicians to discuss with their patients whether PSA testing is right for them. The USPSTF still recommends against PSA screening tests in patients aged 70 or older.

Men whose body mass index (BMI) increases to obesity during adulthood may have a higher risk of fatal prostate cancer, according to the results of a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.