Not Hair Loss News – Prostate Cancer and Chronic Inflammation Linked?

Snippet from the article:

Based on data from a new study at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, men who demonstrate evidence of chronic inflammation seen in prostate biopsies stemming from chronic prostatitis may have close to twice the risk of developing prostate cancer compared to those without inflammation.

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men in the US.

The link between developing cancer and having chronic inflammation was even more striking for men with aggressive or high-grade prostate cancer, reflected in a Gleason score between 7 and 10. The Gleason score is a numeric scale for assessing risk of developing invasive or high-grade prostate cancer based on microscopic evaluation of prostate tissue.

The research was published April 18 in the Journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

The data from the current study is derived from information about men in the placebo arm of the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial by the Southwest Oncology Group. The goal of the trial was to evaluate if the drug finasteride could prevent prostate cancer. Regardless of whether there were any concerning signs of cancer such as high prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels, the protocol called for biopsies to check for prostate cancer at the conclusion of the trial.

Read the rest — Is There A Link Between Prostate Cancer And Chronic Inflammation?

This was an observational study that shows an association between prostate inflammation and prostate cancer, but researchers can’t prove that inflammation causes the cancer. If it can be determined that inflammation leads to cancer, perhaps it can be prevented. In any case, much more research will need to be done.