What Your Doctor Is Reading: Advanced Prostate Cancer Research
CancerProstate Cancer

What Your Doctor Is Reading: Advanced Prostate Cancer Research

From AI-generated biopsy reports to new imaging techniques, these are the latest developments in advanced prostate cancer research that your doctor may be keeping tabs on.
What Your Doctor Is Reading: Advanced Prostate Cancer Research
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Published on June 18, 2025
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Much of managing advanced prostate cancer is about defining your goals for treatment, easing symptoms, and improving your quality of life. To that end, new research is constantly being published that can help people with advanced prostate cancer make more informed decisions about their care.

Take a look at the latest studies and content that may have landed on your doctor’s desk, as covered on Everyday Health’s website for healthcare professionals, MedPage Today. These tips and findings may surprise you — and even spark some thoughtful dialogue at your next appointment.

ChatGPT May Help You Understand Prostate Biopsy Reports

One study found that artificial intelligence may be useful for simplifying complex biopsy reports. Five urologists and five pathologists evaluated 35 biopsy reports generated by ChatGPT. Despite a few instances of misleading or exaggerated language, the doctors largely felt the reports were complete and accurate overall. Plus, ChatGPT-generated reports could be time-savers. The physicians agreed that it was quicker to make edits to the AI-generated reports than it would be to write reports from scratch.

Why This Matters

AI-generated reports reviewed and edited by doctors may allow them to share test results with their patients sooner — and make the reports easier to understand.

Read more on MedPage Today.

Why This Matters

Doctors Seek to End Overtreatment and Prioritize Quality of Life

Joseph Renzulli, MD, an associate professor of urology at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, wants to put an end to the overtreatment of people 75 or older with advanced prostate cancer. Dr. Renzulli says there is no advantage — only surveillance — for those who are older and expected to live 10 years or less, as treatment probably won’t have a positive impact on survival. But it will likely harm quality of life.

Although this is a tough conversation to have, it’s necessary for reaching the goal of living as fully and comfortably as possible with advanced prostate cancer.

Why This Matters

It’s important to have ongoing, candid conversations with your doctor about your circumstances. That way, you can weigh the potential benefits of treatment against the negative effects it may have on quality of life for someone with a prognosis such as yours.

Watch the video on MedPage Today.

Why This Matters

This Imaging Test May Help Detect Metastatic Prostate Cancer

Researchers at the University of California in Los Angeles studied more sensitive imaging techniques to better understand if they could detect metastatic (meaning the cancer has spread) disease in people with biochemically recurrent cancer that’s been classified as nonmetastatic by conventional imaging. (Biochemically recurrent prostate cancer is when prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, levels rise after treatment, which means the cancer may have returned.) Biochemically recurrent prostate cancer is more easily detected through blood work and not always visible with imaging.

Their findings suggest that these tests, called PSMA (prostate-specific membrane antigen) PET scans, excel at detecting the spread of the disease: The test found metastatic cancer in 46 percent of the participants with cancer that had previously been deemed nonmetastatic.


Why This Matters

Given the potential of PSMA PET imaging, clinical trials may study it to better understand the role it can play in accurately diagnosing metastatic disease and guiding treatment choices.

Read more on MedPage Today.

Why This Matters

PSMA PET Scans May Improve Survival and Quality of Life

Another triumph for PSMA PET scans: Research suggests this imaging technique may reduce mortality risk and improve quality of life in men with biochemically recurrent prostate cancer.

 “Our results estimated that PSMA PET imaging strategies would result in nearly one additional year of life and 0.8 quality-adjusted life years per patient,” says Michael S. Leapman, MD, an associate professor of urology at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut. Quality-adjusted life years take into account both quantity and quality of life with treatment.

Why This Matters

PSMA PET scans are becoming more widespread and may be an option for people with advanced prostate cancer. They may be especially effective for detecting visible metastatic disease in men with a PSA level of 5 nanograms/milliliter or higher.

Read more on MedPage Today.

Why This Matters

The Counterintuitive Way to Fight Prostate Cancer–Related Fatigue

Fatigue is an expected side effect of prostate cancer treatment. What’s unexpected, though, is Renzulli’s advice for managing it, which is to keep up with your day-to-day as much as possible. He says people with prostate cancer who stick to their regular routines can often cope with fatigue better.

FAQ

How does MedPage Today select studies to cover?
The MedPage Today editorial team aims to provide information on the latest research that directly affects the lives and practices of healthcare professionals and, in turn, the people they serve. Editors select studies that are published in reputable, peer-reviewed journals and fall into one of 30-plus specialty areas.
Reporters and editors for MedPage Today are experienced healthcare journalists who are meticulous about fact-checking and disclosures. On top of expert in-house staff, MedPage Today works with highly experienced freelance journalists. The editorial staff does not cover research produced or sponsored by the drugmaker. Advertisers on MedPage Today have no influence over what articles are written, how they are written, or what they say.
MedPage Today aims to report on studies published within the past six to nine months. Editors pay special attention to research that may have a direct impact on people’s lives and prioritize reporting on such studies.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Proctor ES et al. Bridging the Gap: Evaluating ChatGPT-Generated, Personalized, Patient-Centered Prostate Biopsy Reports. American Journal of Clinical Pathology. May 2025.
  2. Holzgreve A et al. PSMA-PET/CT Findings in Patients With High-Risk Biochemically Recurrent Prostate Cancer With No Metastatic Disease by Conventional Imaging. JAMA Network Open. January 3, 2025.
  3. Kunst N et al. Long-Term Outcomes of Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen-PET Imaging of Recurrent Prostate Cancer. JAMA Network Open. October 23, 2024.
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Daniel Landau, MD, is a distinguished board-certified hematologist-oncologist with a career that has spanned two eminent institutions: the Orlando Health Cancer Institute and the M...

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