New treatment of prostate cancer. How dynamite could help destroy prostate cancer
They recruited 24 men diagnosed with prostate cancer who had undergone either radiotherapy or a radical prostatectomy - surgery to remove the prostate gland.
They wore the patch 24 hours a day for two years. Because laboratory tests suggested the amount of nitroglycerine needed to tackle cancer is much smaller than that used for angina, researchers took new treatment of prostate cancer skin patch currently prescribed to heart patients and cut it into six, using just one piece for the cancer patients.
Each man wore a patch on the arm or abdomen, changing it every 12 hours.
Doctors checked them every few months for their PSA doubling time, a measure of whether the cancer is returning. The results, published in the journal Urology, showed that within six months, PSA levels had stabilised in all but five of the 24 volunteers.
After a year, most were either still stable or even declining. But Cancer Research UK warned that although the study shows nitroglycerine can reduce PSA levels, there is still no proof that it actually affects the rate of tumour growth. It is hoped the drink may slow the growth of cancer cells, say researchers at the James Cancer Hospital at Ohio State University.
In the new trial the men will take the drink for 28 days before undergoing surgery to remove their prostate.
Blood and tissue samples will then be examined to assess the protective effects of the mix. This follows a number of studies that have suggested that both soy and tomato can reduce the risk of the disease, or even slow its progression.
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