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Cholesterol-lowering statins significantly reduce prostate tumor inflammation, which may help lower the risk of disease progression, new study findings suggest.

Duke University Medical Center researchers found that the use of statins before prostate cancer surgery was associated with a 69 percent reduced likelihood of inflammation inside prostate tumors.

For the study, the researchers examined tissue samples of prostate tumors from 236 men undergoing prostate cancer surgery. The patients included 37 who took statins during the year prior to their surgery.

Overall, 82 percent of the men had inflammatory cells in their prostate tumors and about one-third had marked tumor inflammation. After they accounted for factors such as age, race and body-mass index (a measurement that is based on weight and height), the Duke team concluded that statin use was associated with reduced inflammation within tumors. They also determined that inflammation was more likely among older men with more advanced prostate cancer who’d waited a longer time between prostate biopsy and surgery.

The findings are published in the Feb. 22 online edition of the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

“Increasing evidence suggests that statins may reduce risk of prostate cancer progression, and some studies have even suggested that widespread statin use over the past 15 years has contributed to a decline in prostate cancer mortality,” lead author Dr. Lionel Banez, an assistant professor of surgery and urology, said in a Duke news release.

But that doesn’t mean that all prostate cancer patients should take statins, said study senior author Dr. Stephen Freedland, an associate professor of urology and pathology at the Duke Prostate Cancer Center.

“More studies have to be done before such a recommendation can be made. However, men taking statins for heart health may already be enjoying a beneficial side effect against prostate cancer,” Freedland said in the news release.

Testosterone deficiency in young male cancer survivors often causes low energy levels and reduced quality of life, and these patients may benefit from testosterone replacement therapy, a new study suggests.

About 15 percent of male cancer survivors experience testosterone deficiency, which is a late side effect of chemotherapy or radiation therapy.

In this study of 176 young male cancer survivors and 213 young men without cancer, English researchers looked at the association between testosterone levels, quality of life, self-esteem, fatigue and sexual function.

The young male cancer survivors reported reduced energy levels, impaired sexual function and a markedly reduced quality of life. These problems were most severe in those with testosterone deficiency.

However, the cancer survivors had no problems with self-esteem, sexual relationships or mental health.

“This is an important study demonstrating that low testosterone levels are common in male cancer survivors and associated with an impaired quality of life,” said lead investigator Dr. Richard Ross, of the University of Sheffield. “However, the relationship between testosterone levels and quality of life is complex and appears to depend on a threshold level rather than on a direct correlation. We now need interventional trials with testosterone to determine which young male cancer survivors will benefit from replacement therapy.”

Results are similar for men with prostate cancer whether they have open surgery or laparoscopic surgery, a new study has found.

Currently, open radical prostatectomy (ORP) is considered the standard treatment but the use of laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP), with or without robotic assistance, is becoming more widespread.

In the new study, researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City compared ORP and LRP outcomes in nearly 6,000 men, age 66 or older, with localized prostate cancer.

After they adjusted for patient and tumor characteristics, the researchers found no differences in the rates of general medical/surgical complications, genital/urinary/bowel complications, or in use of postoperative radiation and/or androgen deprivation.

Patients in the LRP group had a 35 percent shorter hospital stay and a lower rate of bladder neck/urethral obstruction, the study authors noted.

“All men considering radical prostatectomy should be clearly informed about the differences between the two techniques and similarities in their expected outcomes, and make treatment decisions in collaboration with an experienced surgeon,” Dr. William T. Lowrance and colleagues wrote in their report, which is published in issue of the Journal of Urology.