News in brief - May 2, 2011

Surveillance acceptable for older men with low-risk prostate cancer - Community action can be a factor in suicide attempts by gay youths

Surveillance acceptable for older men with low-risk prostate cancer

Delaying surgery to remove tumors in older men with low-grade prostate cancer poses no added risk of death, says a study published online April 4 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Active surveillance might be the best option for these patients, the study said.

Such surveillance can include regular prostate-specific antigen testing, digital rectal exams and prostate biopsies, according to the National Cancer Institute.

The study began in 1995. During that time, researchers have examined the cancer progression in 769 older men.

The participants, most of whom are 65 and older, were followed for an average of 2.7 years. They received PSA measurements twice a year, and they got an annual surveillance biopsy to determine if the cancer had changed or progressed.

Researchers found that about one in three underwent treatment, primarily because annual biopsy results showed more cancer. None of the men died from the disease (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21464416).

Community action can be a factor in suicide attempts by gay youths

Lesbian, gay and bisexual youths are more likely to attempt suicide if they live in communities that are unsupportive of their sexual orientation, according to a study published online April 18 in Pediatrics.

Researchers examined the responses of 31,852 11th-graders to the Oregon Healthy Teens Survey between 2006 and 2008. The survey asked students to identify their sexual orientation as lesbian, gay, bisexual or heterosexual.

The study found that nearly 20% of lesbian and gay youths and 22% of bisexual teens attempted suicide at least once in the past year. The figure was 4% among their heterosexual peers (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21502225).

Lesbian, gay or bisexual youths living in unsupportive communities had a 20% greater risk of attempting suicide compared with those who resided in a more positive environment. The risk was 9% higher among heterosexuals who lived in unsupportive communities.