Potentially harmful effect of a testosterone dietary supplement on prostate cancer growth and metastasis

The coordination of plural logics of action and its consequences: Evidence from plural medical systems

Drawing on the theory of social action in organizational and institutional sociology, this paper examines the behavioral consequences of plural logics of action. It addresses the question based on the empirical case of plural medical systems that are composed of both biomedicine and alternative medicine. Applying mixed methods of a cross-national panel data analysis and a content analysis of medical journal articles, it finds that plural systems affect health outcomes negatively when tensions between biomedicine and alternative medicine are unaddressed. In contrast, plural systems produce tangible health benefits when biomedicine and alternative medicine are coordinated through government policies or by health care organizations/professionals. This paper proposes plurality coordination as an important mechanism that modifies the behavioral consequences of plural logics. This proposition contributes to providing theoretical answers to the sociological puzzle that plural logics of action produce inconsistent behavioral consequences.

Serum testosterone level predicts the effective time of androgen deprivation therapy in metastatic prostate cancer patients

Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is the standard of care for patients with metastatic prostate cancer. However, whether serum testosterone levels, using a cut-off point of 50 ng dl⁻¹, are related to the effective time of ADT in newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients remains controversial. Moreover, recent studies have shown that some patients may benefit from the addition of upfront docetaxel chemotherapy. To date, no studies have been able to distinguish patients who will benefit from the combination of ADT and docetaxel chemotherapy. This study included 206 patients who were diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer and showed progression to castrate-resistance prostate cancer (CRPC). Serum testosterone levels were measured prospectively after ADT for 1, 3, and 6 months. The endpoint was the time to CRPC. In univariate and multivariate analyses, testosterone levels <50 ng dl⁻¹ were not associated with the effective time of ADT. Receiver operating characteristic and univariate analysis showed that testosterone levels of ≤25 ng dl⁻¹ after the first month of ADT offered the best overall sensitivity and specificity for prediction of a longer time to CRPC (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.46; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.08–1.96; P = 0.013). Our results show that serum testosterone level of 25 ng dl⁻¹ plays a prognostic role in prostate cancer patients receiving ADT. A testosterone value of 25 ng dl⁻¹ after the first month of ADT can distinguish patients who benefit from ADT effectiveness for only a short time. These patients may need to receive ADT and concurrent docetaxel chemotherapy.