Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Nature, Prostate Cancer, UCSF / 12.06.2023
PSA Screening For Prostate Cancer Can Be Improved: Genetics May Help
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
[caption id="attachment_60494" align="alignleft" width="150"]
Dr. Graff[/caption]
Rebecca E. Graff, ScD
Assistant Professor
University of California, San Francisco
Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics
Mission Hall: Global Health & Clinical Sciences Building
San Francisco, CA 94158
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: PSA screening for prostate cancer has long been controversial. While it does seem to reduce mortality attributable to prostate cancer, it also results in the diagnosis of many cancers that never otherwise would have presented symptomatically. In addition, PSA levels are affected by factors other than prostate tumors (e.g., age, prostatic inflammation, and genetics), such that men with high PSA values are often referred for biopsy but do not end up having cancer. We hypothesized that accounting for the genetic component of PSA could yield adjusted values that better distinguish who should get a prostate biopsy.
Dr. Graff[/caption]
Rebecca E. Graff, ScD
Assistant Professor
University of California, San Francisco
Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics
Mission Hall: Global Health & Clinical Sciences Building
San Francisco, CA 94158
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: PSA screening for prostate cancer has long been controversial. While it does seem to reduce mortality attributable to prostate cancer, it also results in the diagnosis of many cancers that never otherwise would have presented symptomatically. In addition, PSA levels are affected by factors other than prostate tumors (e.g., age, prostatic inflammation, and genetics), such that men with high PSA values are often referred for biopsy but do not end up having cancer. We hypothesized that accounting for the genetic component of PSA could yield adjusted values that better distinguish who should get a prostate biopsy.
Dr. Rathmann[/caption]
Prof. Wolfgang Rathmann MSPH
Prof. of Epidemiology
Deputy Director, Institute for Biometrics and Epidemiology,
German Diabetes Center, Heinrich Heine University
Düsseldorf, Germany
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Diabetes is associated with a poor prognosis of COVID-19. There have been raised concerns about a bidirectional relationship between diabetes and COVID-19. Recent studies raised the possibility that SARS-CoV-2 can cause diabetes. However, there is a lack of studies investigating the incidence of diabetes after recovery from COVID-19 in mild cases.
To provide more evidence, we analyzed electronic health records from 1,171 general and internal medicine practices across Germany between March 2020 and January 2021. This included 35,865 patients who were diagnosed with COVID-19. The incidence of diabetes after COVID-19 was compared with patients, who were diagnosed with an acute upper respiratory tract infection (AURI), matched for sex, age, and comorbidities including obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart attack, and stroke.
