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Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men in the United States, despite data that show a recent decline in the overall incidence rate of the disease. The American Cancer Society estimates that by the end of 2011, almost 34,000 men will have died from prostate cancer in the U.S., with African-Americans more than twice as likely as white men to die from the disease.
BWH radiologists are doing their part to help raise awareness about prostate cancer trends. Steven Seltzer, MD, and Clare Tempany, MD, both of Radiology, spoke at the third Prostate Cancer Awareness Day Sept. 15, an event they helped organize. The event, which was held at the Massachusetts State House, was sponsored by the AdMeTech Foundation, a non-profit corporation for the advancement of medical technologies.
“The public health impact of prostate cancer has been receiving more attention in recent years, which is the first step,” said Tempany, vice chair for Radiology Research and a leading prostate cancer researcher. “Researchers are discovering ways to use imaging to screen for prostate cancer and improve diagnoses, and partnerships like the one on display at this event will help ensure that these discoveries make it to the patients who need them most.”
Seltzer and Tempany spoke about the cutting-edge academic research in prostate cancer diagnosis, imaging and treatment.
“Prostate cancer is difficult to diagnose because of the challenge in obtaining a tumor sample,” said Tempany. “My research team has been studying the use of MR imaging to locate the most active part of a prostate tumor to target for biopsy and provide information about tumor aggressiveness. In the treatment phase, we’re using imaging to guide the placement of radiation seeds inside the tumor, so that the tumor is destroyed while healthy tissue is spared.”