A low fat diet, exercise and stress management techniques may help fight early-stage prostate cancer, according to a new study.

The small study tracked 93 men with non-aggressive tumors who had decided against treatment for early-stage prostate cancer

Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl is scheduled to undergo prostate cancer surgery in Salt Lake City on Thursday.

Nuggets spokeswoman Teri Washington says Karl, dagnosed with cancer toward the end of last season, expects to be released from the hospital Sunday

A recent study at The OregonHealth and Science University has shown that a potentform of Vitamin D may help men dying of prostatecancer extend their lives by upwards of seven months.The study considered men who had advanced tumorsgrowing despite having undergone surgery, radiation orsubsequent drug treatments. In such cases, patientsare given the chemotherapy drug, docetaxel. When the experimental vitamin DN-101 was taken withthe chemotherapy, patients increased their expectancyrates by roughly two years.A two-year survival "is the highest ever seen in arandomized study," said Dr. Bruce Montgomery, aSeattle Cancer Care Alliance prostate cancer expertwho was not involved in the research. "It clearly is abig step forward."Researchers know DN-101 adds at least seven months tothe average survival rate, but they can't yetcalculate the new median life expectancy because halfthe men who took the vitamin for the study are stillalive.The treatment "has a lot of guys I see every daygetting a meaningful chunk of extra time, without anyextra side effect," said Dr. Tomasz Beer, the OHSUCancer Institute scientist who helped develop thedrug.The study folllowed 250 men who were randonly assignedto receive docetaxel alone or along with DN-101. Themedian survival rate of those who took the chemo drugalone was 16.4 months. An additional 7.1 monthsminimum was added to those who combined the chemo andthe vitamin.Beer says the study is big enough to indicate thepills extend life, but it is not big enough to proveDN-101 is market-ready."That will take a study with about 600 men," he added.According to the AP, if DN-101 makes it to market,OHSU stands to profit. The university licensed thedrug to Novacea in 2002, getting payments includingstock in the privately held company and royalties onany sales of the drug

William J Brown - News Room Administrators Staff

The study was published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine and found that for those under 65, surgery cuts the death rate by more than 50%

A national survey reveals that celebrity endorsements, specifically those advertising the importance of cancer screenings, have made a big impact on people taking action.

The government-funded survey conducted by scientists at Dartmouth Medical School, found that more than half of adults in a nationwide survey recalled celebrity endorsements for cancer screening, and more than a fourth said the pitch made them more likely to get tested