Urologic oncology
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DNA repair gene polymorphisms and prostate cancer risk in South Australia--results of a pilot study.
Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in DNA repair genes may impact on DNA damage, and cancer risk. To elucidate the role of SNPs in DNA repair genes in prostate cancer (PC) we conducted a case-control study comprising of 118 Caucasian men affected with late onset PC and 132 age-matched healthy controls from South Australia. ⋯ Our results suggest that this common nsSNP in a gene involved in repair of oxidative damage to DNA may contribute to PC susceptibility in South Australian men.
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We previously published research on 4- and 8-year follow-ups of patient-reported sexual function after conventional external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) for localized prostate cancer (LPC) compared with age-matched controls. The current study is a prolonged 15-year follow-up with the same cohorts. ⋯ The sexual activity 15 years after EBRT for LPC was very low, as was the probability of achieving an erection. Patients with a progressive disease and treated with hormones reported worse sexual and erectile function. The LPC free men showed higher sexual activity, lower sexual bother, and better erectile function than the patients.
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Suggested approaches to reduce the occurrence of plagiarism in academia, particularly among trainees. These include (1) educating individuals as to the definition of plagiarism and its consequences through written guidelines, active discussions, and practice in identifying proper and improper citation practices; (2) distributing checklists that break the writing task into more manageable steps, (3) requiring the submission of an outline and then a first draft prior to the deadline for a paper; (4) making assignments relevant to individual interests; and (5) providing trainees with access to software programs that detect plagiarism.
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The incidence of prostate cancer in Malaysia is still low compared to the west. This may be due to a true low incidence or lower detection rates. Prostate Awareness Campaigns are held on a yearly basis to educate and encourage males over the age of 50 years to have their prostate examined. ⋯ Among the symptomatic patients, nocturia was the most bothersome in the majority. 84.6% of the participants also had some degree of erectile dysfunction based on the IIEF questionnaire. 10.4% of participants had a PSA > 4 ng/mL. Malay participants had the highest mean PSA level (2.32 ng/mL) and Indian participants the lowest (1.30 ng/mL). 408 participants were called back for biopsy but only 183 agreed to the biopsy. 30 cancers were detected. At present Malaysia will benefit most by continuing to conduct these awareness programmes to educate the public on prostate disease and hopefully in future patients will be less reluctant to have prostate biopsies taken when indicated.
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Although prostate cancer (CaP) is the most common male cancer in developed countries, the incidence of CaP in Vietnam remains unknown and the patients often seek treatment at a late stage in their illness. The mass screening of CaP, which has been performed since Jan 2008 in Binh Dan hospital (Ho Chi Minh City) aims to evaluate the effect of CaP mass screening in Vietnam. The details of CaP treatment from 1999 to now in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) were also used for evaluation and comparison. ⋯ Our initial outcomes reflected a low prevalence of CaP in general (2,5%), but a high occurrence of medium grade lesions (Gleason 7) among patients who tested positive for CaP. On one hand, this observation highlights the value of the CaP screening programs in alerting doctors/people and detecting more cases in the early stages of development. On the other hand, the benefit of a mass screening program for CaP is not proven. Meanwhile, selective CaP screening takes advantage of diagnosis and treatment in our country.